Hoang Anh Gia Lai to expand banana farming for China export

Hoanh Anh Gia Lai Agrico expects to harvest over 106,000 tons of banana this year. Photo by Reuters

Hoang Anh Gia Lai Agriculture Jsc is set to invest in another 5,000 hectares of land in Cambodia to grow bananas for export to China.

It will invest VND976 billion ($42 million) in the project, the company said in a recent statement.

Most of the bananas will be exported to China by ship or road. They will fetch VND22,000-23,000 (95-99 cents) per kilogram from September to March and VND13,000-14,000 (56-60 cents) at other times.

While China has a demand for 15 million tons of bananas a year, the company has only been supplying 240,000 tons, Doan Nguyen Duc, CEO of Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) Agrico, said.

But to reduce its excessive reliance on the Chinese market, Duc is also hoping to shift 20 percent of the company’s banana exports to South Korea and Japan.

It expects to harvest over 106,000 tons of bananas and earn revenues of around VND1.7 trillion ($73 million) and VND983 billion ($42 million) in gross profit this year.

The company already possesses 13,500 ha of farmlands in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. It is also a major producer and exporter of dragon fruit and chili.

HAGL used to be a leading property developer in Vietnam, but restructured in 2010 to focus on rubber and livestock farming.

HAGL Agrico has been growing fruits since 2016, and last year its passion fruit, banana, chili, and dragon fruit crops fetched revenues of VND1.6 trillion ($71 million), accounting for around 49 percent of HAGL’s total revenues.

This year, the firm expects sales of VND3.7 trillion ($164.4 million) and gross profits of VND1.67 trillion ($74.2 million).