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.
Son La’s school-based boarding meal programme has drawn sustained attention and investment from local authorities and parents. With upgraded facilities, tightly supervised food-preparation processes and balanced, nutritious menus, the kitchens have become an important factor in boosting school attendance and have delivered measurable improvements in students’ health indicators across the province.
Permanent Vice Chairman of the Son La provincial People’s Committee Ha Trung Chien on January 9 chaired a meeting of the provincial Steering Committee for Building a Learning Society to review activities in 2025 and roll out tasks for this year.
Son La province’s total retail sales of goods hit nearly 41.13 trillion VND (1.56 billion USD) in 2025, representing a year-on-year increase of 14.15%.
With decisive policies to remove bottlenecks in land clearance and to improve the legal framework, Son La province has attracted numerous investors with projects ranging from hundreds to thousands of billions of VND in the fields of commercial housing and urban development. These projects have contributed to transforming the urban landscape and have become a key driving force for local economic growth.
Son La’s services sector outperformed its 2025 plan, generating 16.77 trillion VND (638.04 million USD), up 9.5% from 2024, reinforcing its role as a key pillar of the provincial economy. Double-digit growth in retail sales and exports underscored the effectiveness of market-stabilisation efforts and tighter controls on trade fraud.
The provincial Youth Union, in coordination with Son La Newspaper and Radio-Television and the provincial Music, Song and Dance Theater, on December 31 staged a programme titled “The Enduring Spirit of Youth Volunteers,” to pay tribute to fallen heroes and youth volunteers who died at the Co Noi crossroads.
Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Dang Ngoc Hau on December 31 chaired a conference to review and develop plans for the National Target Programme (NTP) for the 2026-2030 period, as well as to assess administrative reform efforts and the programme to eliminate temporary and dilapidated houses in Yen Chau area’s communes.
Ha Trung Chien, member of the provincial Party Committee’s Standing Board and Standing Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, on December 31 chaired a meeting on the investment and construction of primary-secondary boarding schools in border communes. The meeting was held in person at the provincial People’s Committee headquarters and connected online to the People’s Committees of border communes.
Deputy Secretary of the provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the provincial People's Committee Nguyen Dinh Viet, who is head of the Steering Committee for the construction of the Hoa Binh - Moc Chau expressway section through Son La province, chaired a meeting of the Steering Committee on December 31 to assess the project's progress in 2025 and put forward key tasks for 2026.
Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Minh Tien on December 31 chaired a conference to review traffic safety and order in 2025 and outline key tasks and directions for 2026.
The provincial Youth Union, in coordination with Chieng Lao commune, held a ceremony to inaugurate the Khang ethnic community cultural house at Pa Mong Pa Pu hamlet on December 30.
Military Region 2’s Party Committee and Command, authorised by the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defence, on December 29 presented busts of President Ho Chi Minh to 75 communes and wards across Son La province.
Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Dang Ngoc Hau on December 29 chaired a meeting of the appraisal council and its assisting team to review results on the classification of villages and communes in ethnic minority and mountainous areas, including the designation of particularly disadvantaged hamlet and the categorisation of communes into Areas I, II and III across the province.
Nong thon Ngay nay (Countryside Today) Newspaper, in coordination with the People’s Committee of Ngoc Chien commune, on December 28 organised a “Zero-VND Market” to deliver Lunar New Year (Tet) gifts to local residents in 2025, aiming to support households facing difficult circumstances.
The Organising Committee of the Son La Tourism Contests 2025 held a ceremony on December 26 to announce and present awards. The event was attended by representatives of provincial departments and agencies, as well as authors and groups whose works won prizes.
Located in Thao Nguyen ward, Ta Loong residential area is blessed with striking natural scenery and a rich cultural legacy of the Dao ethnic community. Amid the pressures of urbanisation and deeper integration, local residents have remained committed to safeguarding traditional values, treating cultural heritage as a treasured asset that enriches spiritual life while laying the foundation for sustainable tourism growth.
Identifying the spring crop as the most important production season of the year, the agricultural sector and localities across Son La province are stepping up preparations to secure seed structure, agricultural supplies and irrigation water, aiming to complete planting within the recommended timeline and achieve high yield and quality.
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