C.P Vietnam Corporation: A successful model of agricultural production

C.P Group President (second from the left) and Vietnamese Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat (third from the left)

Untying knots for Vietnamese agriculture

The C.P (Charoen Pokphand) Group was established in 1921 in Bangkok and has now become one of the strongest industrial, agricultural, and food processing groups in Thailand.

In 1988, C.P opened a representative office in Ho Chi Minh City. Five years later, the C.P Vietnam Co., Ltd. (now C.P Vietnam Corporation) was established in the Bien Hoa 2 Industrial Zone, Dong Nai Province, specializing in producing feed for cattle, poultry, and aquatic animals; breeding cattle, poultry, and aquatic animals; processing, distributing, and retailing food.

In 1993, the corporation built a livestock feed plant, a poultry farm house, and the first egg incubator in Dong Nai Province. After more than two decades, CPV currently has six plants producing feed for cattle and poultry, three plants producing feed for aquatic animals, and one plant preliminarily processing maize.

Thanks to its modern laboratories, CPV could well control the nutritional value and residues of banned substances in materials. The corporation also applies ISO 9001:2008, GMP, HACCP, ISO 22000, and Global GAP to ensure the safety of feed for aquatic animals.

CPV imports poultry, cattle, and aquatic animal breeds from reputable companies in the world and put them under careful genetic assessments and selections to ensure their good disease resistance and high economic effectiveness for farmers.

CPV has successfully built a closed commodity production chain according to the Feed-Farm-Food (3F) model to create international-standard food products for export to many countries around the world.

The corporation’s development policy is transferring production techniques for farmers to promote agriculture for the interests of countries, their people and businesses, said CPV Vice President Sooksunt Jiumjaiswanglerg. In Vietnam, CPV has effectively invested in a modern livestock breeding model, contributing to the development of the Vietnamese animal husbandry sector by accelerating the shift from small-scale production to an industrial livestock breeding model. These contributions have been recognized by the Vietnamese government and concerned ministries.

CPV Breeding and Genetics Director, Dr. Kieu Minh Luc, said the corporation had signed contracts to transfer closed, high-productivity breeding techniques to Vietnamese farmers, helping them become future customers of CPV.

CPV has cooperated with farmers to develop more than 3,000 farms, creating jobs for about 150,000 Vietnamese workers including 15,656 CPV employees. The corporation is promoting the distribution of safe food via channels such as CP Shop, Fresh Mart, and supermarket chains nationwide. It is also expanding the Five Star franchise network to promote the distribution and retail of processed food to consumers. “CPV has become a leading safe food manufacturer in Vienam with its Feed-Farm-Food production chain,” Dr. Luc said.

Along with business activities, CPV has paid great attention to human resource training and social welfare activities. The corporation has sent 8,170 employees to training courses in Thailand, Denmark, Australia, and Germany. Some 142 management positions at CPV are held by Vietnamese, including six deputy general directors, 24 assistants to deputy general directors, and 112 forepersons.

The corporation has made significant efforts to fulfill its social responsibility. In fact, CPV’s Charity Fund spent hundreds of billions of dong each year for charitable purposes, including blood donation, free diagnoses and treatment of diseases, and support for schools, residents in poor rural areas and islands, and victims of natural disasters.

CPV has received 22 certificates of merit from the Vietnamese State for the fulfillment of tax obligations as well as achievements in production, trade, and social activities over the last more than 20 years investing in Vietnam. Last year, the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development presented CPV a certificate of merit for its significant contributions to the local animal husbandry sector in the 2010-2015 period. The corporation ranked 21st among Vietnam’s top 500 businesses in 2015.

C.P Group Vice President Sooksunt Jiumjaiswanglerg said CPV was increasing investment in food processing technology to create high quality, safe products for domestic sale and export. The corporation has received licenses to invest US$260 million in Dong Nai Province. Its investment currently covers 64 provinces and cities nationwide.

Linh Duy