TH True Milk kicks off dairy project in Russia

The Vietnamese dairy firm TH True Milk began the first phase of its large-scale cow breeding and farming project in Moscow, Russia on May 18.

According to the group’s Chairwoman Thai Huong, Russia is the first offshore investment destination of the firm.

TH True Milk has set a budget of 2.7 billion USD for a ten-year investment in the three-phase project, of which 500 million USD has been earmarked for the first phase.

Dairy products from the project are expected to debut in mid-2017.

In the last phase, the company will expand its herd to 350,000 cows farmed on 140,000 hectares of land and be capable of processing 5,900 tons of milk on a daily basis.

Scene at a ceremony on May 18 marking the begin of TH True Milk's dairy project in Russia

It also plans to run a distribution network of 300 stores across the country.

Attending a ceremony marking the start of the project, visiting Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said Russia is a large and potential market for dairy products.

He stressed the free trade agreement signed last year between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union will facilitate and stimulate cooperation in the sector.

The dairy project will create jobs and contribute to local agricultural development, he added, hoping that it will represent a diverse and effective partnership between Vietnam and Russia.

The PM said Vietnam’s Government will continue giving maximum support for the project.

Moscow Governor Andrey Vorobiev said he welcomed TH True Milk’s operations and lauded the firm’s efforts to launch the project on the agreed schedule.

He expressed his confidence in the project, which he believed will become an example for farming collaboration between the two countries’ enterprises and localities.

He vowed to create favourable conditions for the implementation of all Vietnamese projects in his region.

Previously, TH True Milk took part in an international food exposition in Russia, winning seven awards and a warm welcome from local consumers. The company broke a record by the India-based Asian Record Organisation to become the top Asian large-scale and high-tech dairy farm in 2015.

Vietnam has so far channeled 2.93 billion USD into 20 projects in Russia, mostly in the sectors of oil and gas exploration and services. Meanwhile, Russia has been ranked 17th out of 112 nations investing in Vietnam with 114 projects worth 2.08 billion USD.