Son La province attracts investment in agricultural processing
Processing is considered the decisive stage in the agricultural value chain, helping diversify products and optimise profits. Son La province has been actively attracting investment into the agricultural processing sector, creating a solid foundation for transforming agricultural structures, building agri-product brands, and increasing farmers’ incomes.
The VFI Son La Food Processing Plant in the Mai Son Industrial Park.
Since the beginning of this year, Son La has had two new processing plants put into operation: the VFI Son La Food Processing Plant and the BHL Modified Starch Factory. In addition, the DOVECO Son La Fruit and Vegetable Processing Centre has installed the Tetra Recart paper carton production line - Sweden’s first technology applied in Vietnam for fruits and vegetables, opening up major opportunities to enhance product value and ensure sustainable sale for farmers.
The processing line at the BHL Modified Starch Factory in the Mai Son Industrial Park.
The inauguration and operation of the BHL Modified Starch Factory mark a strategic shift for the processing industry, moving away from dependence on low-value raw products. Unlike regular starch, modified starch is produced using advanced technology and offers superior properties such as heat resistance and strong adhesion. This high-quality product has become an essential raw material in advanced industries such as food, pharmaceuticals, paper, and textiles, helping Son La’s agricultural products become more competitive and capable of entering deep into global supply chains.
Vu Hung Binh, General Director of BHL Son La Group, shared that the BHL Modified Starch Factory project started construction in early 2025 and, after nearly eight months, was completed and put into operation. The factory covers 1.64 hectares in the Mai Son Industrial Park with a design capacity of 300 tonnes per day and is equipped with two state-of-the-art production lines and an automatic control system. It can produce more than 1,000 product codes across five key categories. This breakthrough enables BHL products to meet international standards and produce in time for the 2025-2026 cassava season.
Workers at the Doveco Son La Fruit and Vegetable Processing Centre during a production shift.
At the Doveco Son La Fruit and Vegetable Processing Centre, after two years of operation, the modern processing complex has reached a total capacity of 52,000 tonnes per year. In 2025, Doveco Son La continues to operate the Swedish Tetra Recart packaging line - the first of its kind in Vietnam, with a capacity of 6,000 cartons per hour, equivalent to 6-8 million cartons per year.
According to Pham Ngoc Thanh, Deputy General Director of Dong Giao Food Export Joint Stock Company, the new line allows the packaging of many premium agricultural products from Vietnam and Son La, including sweet corn, pineapple juice, and various beans, thereby promoting consumption, boosting exports, creating jobs, and increasing the value of the agricultural supply chain for farmers and cooperatives in the region.
The fruit and vegetable sorting and preliminary processing line at the Doveco Son La Fruit and Vegetable Processing Centre.
Since 2021, the province has implemented and completed 10 new projects, raising the total number of processing facilities to 21 factories and nearly 600 small-scale establishments, involving many reputable domestic and international corporations. Currently, the province has nine large-scale coffee processing facilities, meeting over 50% of the province’s fresh coffee cherry output; more than 20 enterprises and cooperatives processing tea; a sugar factory with a capacity of 5,000 tonnes of sugarcane per day; two cassava processing plants; four fruit and vegetable processing plants; and one dairy processing plant. Agricultural and food export value has grown strongly from 104.1 million USD in 2021 to an estimated 208 million USD in 2025, with key export products including coffee, tea, cassava and cassava-based products, banana, mango, longan, and passion fruit.
Workers and engineers install the processing line at the VFI Son La Food Processing Plant.
According to Ha Nhu Hue, Director of the provincial Department of Industry and Trade, the department is currently implementing comprehensive solutions to create a favorable and efficient investment environment. The focus is on attracting investment into deep processing, maximising current capacity, and accelerating key projects in the Mai Son Industrial Park. At the same time, the department prioritises developing technical infrastructure in industrial clusters and encourages businesses to expand production, apply advanced technologies, improve product quality, and meet environmental requirements.
Agricultural processing has become a driving force behind Son La’s agricultural breakthroughs. In the coming period, the province aims to continue attracting investment, accelerating project progress, and improving product quality, with the goal of strengthening Son La’s position in international markets and increasing farmers’ incomes.
The Standing Committee of the provincial Youth Union, in coordination with Kim Bon commune, on December 18 held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Suoi Pa campus of Anh Sao Kindergarten. This project aims to celebrate the 14th Congress of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union of Son La province for the 2025-2030 term.
Ha Trung Chien, member of the provincial Party Committee’s Standinng Board and Standing Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, on December 18 inspected the construction of primary and secondary boarding schools in the border communes of Yen Son, Phieng Khoai, and Long Phieng.
Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Dang Ngoc Hau on December 18 held a working session with communes in the Song Ma area regarding the development of plans for national target programmes for the 2026-2030 period.
Deputy Secretary of the provincial Party Committee and President of the provincial Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee Cha A Cua visited and had a working session with the Party Committee of Chieng Khuong commune to review Party building, consolidation of the political system, and the socio-economic, national defence and security situation in the locality on December 18.
Hoang Van Nghiem, Secretary of the provincial Party Committee and head of the provincial delegation of National Assembly deputies, on December 17 held a working session with the Standing Boards of the Party Committees of Muong La, Chieng Lao, Muong Bu, Chieng Hoa, and Ngoc Chien communes to grasp the grassroots-level situation, especially since the two-level local government system came into operation.
Hoang Van Nghiem, Secretary of the provincial Party Committee and head of the provincial delegation of National Assembly deputies, on December 17 led a working delegation to inspect and survey several key projects in Muong Bu commune and visit Son La Hydropower Plant.
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Son La province’s aquaculture output in November is estimated at 685.2 tonnes, including 676 tonnes of fish, 0.2 tonnes of shrimp and 8.6 tonnes of other aquatic products .
Son La province recorded 192 newly established enterprises and affiliated units in November, with total registered capital of nearly 351 billion VND (13.33 million USD), up 260% and 127% year-on-year, respectively. The total number of businesses operating in the province has now surpassed 4,500.
Accounting for nearly 16% of the province’s population, the Mong ethnic people in Son La consist of three main groups Flower Mong (Mong Lenh), White Mong (Mong Do), and Black Mong (Mong Du). Together, they have created a rich and distinctive cultural heritage imbued with strong ethnic identity, reflected in their costumes, language, festivals, and traditional crafts. In highland villages, these traditional cultural values are personally preserved and passed down from generation to generation by cultural torchbearers within the community.
In response to the requirement for fundamental and comprehensive renovation of education and training, the provincial education sector, together with local authorities, has prioritised budget allocations and mobilised various resources to build and upgrade schools. These efforts have gradually created more spacious and modern learning environments that meet the demands of educational reform.
Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Dang Ngoc Hau on December 15 chaired a meeting with departments, agencies and local authorities on measures to lift the province’s Citizen and Business Service Index and performance in delivering online public services.
For students in urban areas, learning English is no longer unfamiliar. However, in remote and mountainous regions, particularly among ethnic minority communities, access to foreign languages, especially for preschool children, remains a major challenge. To address this gap, the education sector has rolled out the “Solution to manage and improve the quality of organising English familiarisation activities in preschools.” After more than a year of implementation, the initiative has begun to yield positive changes, offering children in mountainous areas an opportunity to early engage with a foreign language.
After five years of implementing Subproject 3 on supporting sustainable employment, under Project 4 of the National Target Programme on Sustainable Poverty Reduction for the 2021-2025 period, Son La province has supported 132 workers in finding jobs at domestic companies and enterprises. This has contributed to creating sustainable livelihoods and improving incomes for people in many disadvantaged areas.
As part of the 2025 cultural, sports, and tourism festival for ethnic minority and mountainous communities in Tuong Ha commune, villagers and visitors packed Ban Cai flower garden on December 14 to watch and take part in folk games.
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