Japan's Sojitz and Vinamilk put beef processing plant into operation in Vinh Phuc

The processing plant will be the first in Vietnam to process refrigerated beef, and all meat will be processed in a controlled, highly sanitised environment.

Sojitz aims to have the plant process and ship approximately 10,000 tonnes of beef annually. Sojitz plans to start operating a cattle farm near the processing plant by next March, which will provide a stable supply of high-quality beef products through an integrated system for all processes from farming to processing and sales.

Vietnam's beef consumption is about 500,000 tonnes per year, while Japan’s annual consumption of beef totals one million tonnes. Most beef distributed is processed and shipped at room temperature before being sold at traditional markets. Moving forward, Vietnam’s population growth (100 million people as of 2023) and rising income levels are anticipated to increase the domestic consumption of beef. Due to diversifying consumer behaviour from this economic growth, demand is expected to grow for high-quality domestic beef processed in a sanitised refrigerated environment.

In September 2021, Sojitz and Vietnam Livestock Corporation JSC, a company under Vietnam’s largest dairy manufacturer Vinamilk, established JVL as a joint venture. Starting in 2022, JVL began test marketing Japanese beef imports and sales before starting sales of Vietnamese beef products processed at partner plants at sales channels including supermarkets and restaurants in 2023.

The new processing plant will be equipped to process approximately 30,000 cattle per year with the aim of increasing production of beef products to approximately 10,000 tonnes per year. The beef products will be distributed using Sojitz’s four-temperature, cold-chain logistics service in Vietnam with plans to conduct sales to mid- to high-end hotels and restaurants in the customer network of DaiTan Viet JSC, which is Sojitz Group's largest commercial food wholesaler.

The cattle farm adjacent to the processing plant will be capable of raising 10,000 head of cattle, and Sojitz aims to provide a stable supply of Vietnamese beef products through an integrated system that spans cattle farming to processing and sales.

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