Workers processing aloe vera at GC Food factory. Photo: TL

"Key" to expansion

At the ongoing Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (AGM) in 2024, the phrase "expanding production" can be seen as a plan set by many companies this year as well as in the following years. Sharing with CustomsNews on the sidelines of the recent AGM, Nguyen Van Thu, Chairman of the Board of Directors of G.C Food JSC (GD Food) said that the company would continue to invest in developing raw material areas, expanding the area of aloe vera raw material from the current 200 hectares to about 500 hectares to ensure proactive access to raw materials for production. According to the plan, GC Food will put 200-250 tons of aloe vera leaves into production every day. Thereby, it is expected to bring about a breakthrough in revenue and profit in 2024.

In addition to developing raw material areas, Thu also said that they would invest in new product lines of cosmetics from aloe vera material and invest in a factory producing bottled drinks from aloe vera, coconut jelly, and fruits. This plan is part of the company's orientation in maximizing the value chain from aloe vera trees. Currently, GC Food is cooperating with some partners and investors to develop new products. Accordingly, the new factory will start construction in 2024 and is expected to have products by 2025.

Many other companies operating in the agricultural sector such as Vinh Hoan Corporation, Dabaco Group, and BAF Agriculture JSC are also planning strong expansion investments. Specifically, Vinh Hoan Corporation will invest in expanding and upgrading the production capacity of collagen and renovating factories at Vinh Hoan Collagen Company. Vinh Hoan also intends to invest in warehouses and additional machinery and equipment for Phase 1 of the Thanh Ngoc fruit processing plant; invest in expanding warehouses and upgrading the production capacity of Feedone aquatic feed factories, and Sa Giang factories. Simultaneously, investments are expected to expand farming areas; new investment and renovation of Vinh Phuoc, Thanh Binh, and Vinh Hoan factories.

At the AGM in 2024, the "giant" in the livestock industry - Dabaco also outlined development plans, expanding production bases; and speeding up the progress of investment, putting ongoing projects into operation, including: vaccine production plants, phase two vegetable oil extraction plants. Additionally, Dabaco also implements suitable short and long-term projects such as High-tech Livestock Farms in Quang Ninh and Thanh Hoa; and complete the necessary procedures to bring ASF (African swine fever) vaccine to the market as soon as possible.

Another large livestock company, BAF, also sets a strategy in 2024 to expand distribution channels, connect with farmers to develop pig herds, invest heavily in farm development, consolidate personnel, upgrade systems, and create opportunities for international cooperation. Notably, this company plans to put seven farm projects into operation in 2024, located in: Tay Ninh, Phu Yen, Binh Phuoc, and Gia Lai provinces. Simultaneously, it is planned to start construction of seven more projects in 2024, including six livestock farm projects and one animal feed production plant project in Binh Dinh province. It is expected that by the end of 2024, the total herd will double compared to the same period in 2023, reaching 75,000 sows and 800,000 fattening pigs.

Meanwhile, Saigon Ground Services Corporation (SGN) is placing many hopes on the bidding plan at Long Thanh International Airport to expand its production and business here. In 2024, the company will focus on successfully bidding for the "Investment project to build, operate, maintain the ground vehicle service area and aircraft sanitation processing No. 01 and 02 - Long Thanh International Airport (LTIAP)".

If awarded the bid, SGN will spend nearly VND174 billion, of which VND51 billion is for Tan Son Nhat International Airport (parking equipment, information technology, and preparation for LTIAP), and VND123 billion for investment in equipment at LTIAP.

Long journey of sustainable development

In addition to the actively implemented expansion plans, green transformation towards sustainable development is a long-term goal that companies aim for to keep up with market changes. Accordingly, in 2024, GC Food will establish an ESG Committee to carry out tasks related to current ESG criteria and practices. Thu said that GC Food has recently received many requests from international customers, especially those from Europe, regarding ESG issues, sustainable development in the company. Accordingly, the company has put forward many criteria, implemented activities to demonstrate to customers. The company also strives to achieve ESG certification by an international organization in 2024 or 2025.

"This will be a passport for GC Food to sell goods in the European market more conveniently, while also enhancing the company's reputation and achieving better selling prices" - stated Thu. In addition to ESG solutions, GC Food also implements many activities to optimize energy sources used in factories and aims to balance greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

At the recent Sustainable Development Conference organized by Forbes Magazine, Tran Nhu Tung, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Thanh Cong Textiles - Investment - Trading JSC, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Textile Association shared a series of green activities that the company has been persistently implementing for many years. "Every year, in addition to revenue and profit plans, Thanh Cong Textiles also sets specific plans for sustainable development strategies, and commits to customers to reduce how many tons of carbon to assert the company's determination in minimizing environmental impacts" - said Tung.

Accordingly, factories must invest in wastewater treatment, chemicals, and reduce energy consumption by partially replacing coal used in boilers with biomass. Replacing 10% of coal with biomass will reduce 2,500 tons of CO2 emissions annually. "These figures are constantly updated on the company's website for customers to see continuous changes day by day" - said Tung.

In the steel production sector, Hoa Phat Group recently announced the completion of a greenhouse gas inventory audit according to ISO 14064-1:2018 standard. Hoa Phat said that this was one of the activities that steel and iron production companies must implement, laying the groundwork to meet other requirements when exporting goods to the world market, especially the European region. Therefore, this will be a significant advantage to help the company aggressively dominate the market with competitive prices.