Vinamilk to establish new milk processing facility in Cambodia

Vinamilk, a dairy company based in Vietnam, is set to establish a new milk processing facility in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

The investment is part of the company’s strategy to more than double its revenues to $3bn by 2017.

Vinamilk chairwoman and general director Mai Kieu Lien was quoted by Bloomberg as saying that the company will expand into other overseas markets over the next five years.

"We will focus on expanding the domestic market as well as speeding up exporting to other markets," Lien added.

The 2.7ha Cambodian facility, which will be the firm’s second factory outside Vietnam after New Zealand, will be established through a joint venture with a local partner, the company said.

Awaiting approval from Cambodian authorities, the construction of the plant is slated to begin in the second quarter of 2014.

Scheduled to go onstream in July 2015, the plant will manufacture condensed milk, yoghurt and milk sterilised at ultra-high temperatures.

It will allow the company to cater to the increasing demand for milk, yoghurt and ice cream from the growing middle class in South-East Asian countries.

Vinamilk would be one of the top 50 milk producers in the world on reaching the revenue target in 2017, Lien said.

The dairy firm, which already exports products to Cambodia and the Middle East, may also export products to the US, following the receipt of Food and Drug Administration approval, and overseas markets to achieve annual sales growth of about 20%.

In September, Vinamilk opened a $110m liquid milk processing and packaging facility in Binh Duong province, Vietnam.

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Image: Vinamilk’s Cambodian facility will manufacture condensed milk, yoghurt and milk sterilised at ultra-high temperatures. Photo courtesy of Alessandro Paiva.