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

With an impressive area of ​​fruit trees and hawthorns, up to 82,626 hectares, Son La possesses abundant raw materials. The output figures of key fruits such as plums (85,985 tons), longans (over 66,000 tons), mangoes (over 71,500 tons), custard apples (about 6,645 tons) and strawberries (over 7,800 tons) are clear evidence of this great potential. Initial success has been recorded when by November 20, the whole province had consumed 348,653 tons of fruit, reaching 93% of the output with a total estimated value of over VND 5,310 billion.

However, Son La does not stop at consuming fresh fruit. The province is actively developing the agricultural value chain with a system of 17 factories and 543 modern processing facilities, processing thousands of tons of diverse raw materials each year, including mango, longan, coffee, cassava, pineapple, plum, sweet corn, banana, macadamia, hawthorn and many other vegetables and tubers. This not only reduces the pressure on fresh product consumption but also significantly increases added value, expanding domestic and foreign consumption markets.

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

Son La's success also comes from its strong investment attraction policy. Since 2021, the province has attracted 11 large-scale agricultural processing projects, of which 8 projects have been newly licensed. Many other projects are in the appraisal process, such as the instant cereal and dried fruit factory of VFI Investment Trade Production Joint Stock Company, and the Solas fruit packaging and processing factory of Bao Lam Son La Joint Stock Company. These projects promise to create a strong boost for the province's agricultural processing industry.

Advertisement

The production and consumption linkage model is receiving special attention from Son La. Son La Sugarcane Joint Stock Company has signed contracts with nearly 10,000 households; businesses have linked up with 12,000 coffee-growing households; and Moc Chau Dairy Cow Breeding Joint Stock Company has linked up with more than 510 livestock farming households.

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

Agricultural processing enterprises in Son La are constantly innovating technology. Doveco Son La Vegetable and Fruit Processing Center, with 1,461 hectares of raw material area and processing output of over 26,000 tons of agricultural products, is a typical example. Phuc Sinh Son La Joint Stock Company has invested in a modern Cascara tea processing line, creating new products of high value and being welcomed by the European market.

With an expected growth in the industrial production index of 28.3% in 2024, of which the processing and manufacturing industry will increase by 5.6%, Son La is aiming to become the leading agricultural product processing center in the region.

The approval of the project to establish a high-tech agricultural zone and the project to build Son La into an agricultural processing center is opening up great opportunities, attracting strong investment and promoting the sustainable development of Son La agriculture in the future. Son La is on the rise, turning agricultural potential into reality, bringing prosperity to the people and contributing positively to the national economy.

Hien Luong