Son La is making a strong mark on the Vietnamese agricultural map, not only because of its vast and fertile fields but also because of its strong transformation towards a modern, efficient, and sustainable agricultural sector. The province is focusing on attracting investment, promoting the processing industry, enhancing the value of agricultural products, and aiming to become a leading agricultural processing center in the region.

With an impressive area of ​​fruit trees and hawthorn, totaling 82,626 hectares, Son La possesses abundant raw materials. The production figures for key fruits such as plums (85,985 tons), longan (over 66,000 tons), mangoes (over 71,500 tons), custard apples (approximately 6,645 tons), and strawberries (over 7,800 tons) clearly demonstrate this enormous potential. Initial success has been recorded as of November 20th, with the entire province having sold 348,653 tons of fruit, reaching 93% of the production target, with an estimated total value of over 5,310 billion VND.

However, Son La province is not limited to consuming fresh fruit. The province is actively developing an agricultural value chain with a system of 17 factories and 543 modern processing facilities, handling thousands of tons of diverse raw materials annually, including mangoes, longan, coffee, cassava, pineapples, plums, sweet corn, bananas, macadamia nuts, hawthorn berries, and many other vegetables and tubers. This not only reduces the pressure on fresh produce consumption but also significantly increases added value and expands domestic and international markets.

Processing honey coffee by Aratay Coffee Cooperative, Chieng Chung commune, Mai Son district, Son La province.

Son La's success also stems from its strong investment attraction policies. From 2021 to the present, the province has attracted 11 large-scale agricultural processing projects, including 8 newly licensed projects. Many other projects are currently under evaluation, such as the instant cereal and dried fruit production plant of VFI Investment and Trading Joint Stock Company, and the Solas fruit packaging and processing plant of Bao Lam Son La Joint Stock Company. These projects promise to create a strong impetus for the province's agricultural processing industry.

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Son La province is paying special attention to the production-consumption linkage model. Son La Sugar Corporation has signed contracts with nearly 10,000 households; businesses are linked with 12,000 coffee-growing households; and Moc Chau Dairy Cattle Breeding Corporation is linked with more than 510 livestock farming households.

This is clear evidence of the efforts to build a sustainable value chain, bringing practical benefits to both businesses and people. Cooperation with large domestic and international businesses such as Bich Thi Joint Stock Company, FUSA, Danko, Minh Khai… has also opened up many opportunities for exporting deeply processed products such as dried fruits, juices, longan…

Agricultural processing businesses in Son La are constantly innovating their technology. The Doveco Son La Fruit and Vegetable Processing Center, with 1,461 hectares of raw material area and a processing output of over 26,000 tons of agricultural products, is a prime example. Phuc Sinh Son La Joint Stock Company has invested in a modern Cascara tea processing line, creating a new high-value product that has been well-received by the European market.

With a projected industrial production index growth of 28.3% in 2024, including a 5.6% increase in the processing and manufacturing sector, Son La is aiming to become a leading agricultural product processing center in the region.

The approval of the project to establish a high-tech agricultural zone and the project to develop Son La into an agricultural processing center is opening up tremendous opportunities, attracting strong investment and promoting the sustainable development of Son La's agriculture in the future. Son La is on the path to transforming its agricultural potential into reality, bringing prosperity to its people and making a positive contribution to the national economy.

Hien Luong