CEO of The PAN Group: The current global context provides countless opportunities for Vietnamese agricultural products

• The PAN Group has just held an Investor Meeting with the topic named "Potential and Opportunity".
• Representatives of the companies believed that the global demand for food is enormous and the opportunities for businesses in the agricultural and food industries like The PAN Group are limitless.
• Investors are interested in how the group's businesses have been responding to challenges of climate change and the food crisis.

The PAN Group (HoSE: PAN) has just held an Investor Meeting with the theme of "Potential and Opportunity" in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City on September 7 and 9. This was an event that brought together senior leaders of the Group's member companies including ABT, Bibica, Lafooco, Nha Trang 584, Sao Ta, VFG, Vinaseed... which are the leading enterprises in the Vietnamese food production segment. The event also took place in the context that amidst the rising risks of a global food crisis, Vietnam has emerged as a good example of food security as well as its growing role in contributions to the world market.

"The global demand for food is huge and the opportunities for agriculture and food businesses like The PAN Group are limitless", affirmed Ms. Nguyen Thi Tra My - CEO of The PAN Group.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Tra My, CEO of The PAN Group (3rd from right), and leaders of member companies at the event held in Hanoi. Photo by The PAN Group

However, to seize this opportunity, two issues of interest to investors at the event are how businesses have been responding to challenges of climate change and the impact of the food crisis on the business and export activities of Vietnam's agricultural and food industries.

The adaptation to climate change by "living in harmony with nature"

Sharing on this issue, Ms. Tran Kim Lien - Chairman of the Board of Directors cum CEO of Vietnam National Seed Group (Vinaseed, HoSE: NSC) agreed with the cautious view but also advised not to worry too much about the impacts if companies did business methodically. "Vinaseed has sought ways to "live in harmony with nature" by researching more water-, drought- and especially salt-tolerant varieties, as well as moving production abroad for process outsourcing...", Ms. Lien gave an example.

Another example is Sao Ta Foods Joint Stock Company (HoSE: FMC). While the whole shrimp farming industry is struggling with diseases, thanks to its own farming process and technique, good fingerling selection, especially self-production and the release of microorganisms (beneficial bacteria) to the bottom of the ponds to inhibit harmful organisms..., Sao Ta's farms have maintained extremely low damage rates and high harvesting yields.

The representative of the company, Mr. Nguyen Van Khai, said that instead of using antibiotics in shrimp farming, Sao Ta chose to "live in harmony with nature" to flexibly adapt to climate change. The leader assessed that shrimp farming was very risky, but this approach helped Sao Ta confidently expand the farming area. "The industrial shrimp farming area of ​​Sao Ta now reaches more than 500 hectares, but it can only meet 30% of the total capacity of the processing plant," Mr. Khai added.

Enormous potential for Vietnam's food exports

Facing external risks, Ms. Nguyen Thi Tra My said that the group had predicted that inflation would be worse after the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Therefore, member companies have actively expanded their markets, not solely focusing on traditional ones.

"For more than 10 years, The PAN Group has been pursuing the mission of feeding the world, ensuring food security, providing safe and nutritious products, and creating value for farmers, families and communities", said Ms. My.

The event in Ho Chi Minh City also attracted a lot of attention from investors. Photo by The PAN Group

For sustainable development, The PAN Group and its member companies must take their own direction, develop value-added products, and approach "fastidious" but high-priced export markets. In particular, they pay special attention to environmental issues, developing a green, circular economy and harmonizing benefits between farmers, businesses and customers. These will continue to be the motto of The PAN Group in its sustainable development strategy, not just a short term solution to overcome the economic recession or food crisis.

Ms. Tran Kim Lien - Chairman of Vinaseed's Board of Directors - affirmed that Vietnamese rice producers and exporters have been getting plenty of opportunities from the global context. For example, Vinaseed's rice orders from the European market have increased sharply due to a serious decrease in global wheat production after the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Furthermore, the drought in India, the world's big rice supplier, has also reduced this country's rice production.

India and Thailand, the world's two largest rice producers, mainly cultivate rice once a year. Meanwhile, thanks to the distinct climate and special rice varieties, Vietnam harvests three rice crops a year, as a result, Vietnamese rice enterprises are always confident about their new rice products.

The harvest of the summer-autumn crop has been completed and the progress of autumn-winter and winter-spring (two main cropping seasons) rice cultivation is well prepared now. Therefore, this year, the country's rice cultivation is forecast to reach about 20 million tons of rice. Meanwhile, it is expected that the demand for rice imports from the US, Canada, Australia, EU, ASEAN and Africa is considerable, which means that the potential for Vietnamese rice and food exports is great.

In terms of The PAN Group, CEO Nguyen Thi Tra My said that after 10 years, The PAN Group has succeeded in becoming a leading agricultural and food corporation in Vietnam. The female leader assessed that The PAN Group has finished building the platform, creating an ecosystem and are now ready to enter the booming phase.

"We are determined to do better in the future and believe that with the existing ecosystem, The PAN Group is one of the very few businesses that have all the necessary and sufficient conditions to realize the dream of enhancing Vietnamese agriculture and food", the CEO affirmed.

Source: Ndh.vn