Economic cooperation is a bright spot in Vietnam - Russian Federation relations

Vietnam's investment projects in Russia mainly focus on the Rusvietpetro Oil and Gas Joint Venture, the Hanoi - Moscow Cultural - Trade Center; and the TH Group 's High-Tech Dairy Farming and Milk Processing Complex Project. At the end of May, TH Group took a new step forward in implementing the project in Russia when it started the dairy farm and milk processing project with an investment scale of 19 billion rubles (more than 5,200 billion VND) in Nikolo-Mikhailovka village, Yakovlevsky district, Primorsky territory (Far East, Russian Federation).

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and Labor Hero Thai Huong (Far left - PV) attend the groundbreaking ceremony of the TH True Milk Group's milk processing factory project in Kaluga province, September 7, 2018.

Vietnam-Russia economic and trade cooperation has developed dynamically in recent times, but is not commensurate with the potential of the two countries.

As of April this year, Russia has 186 investment projects in Vietnam, with a total registered capital of 984.98 million USD, ranking 28th out of 146 countries and territories investing in Vietnam. Russian projects focus on the fields of oil and gas, mining, processing and manufacturing industries, etc.

Vietnam currently has 18 investment projects in Russia, with a total registered capital of 1.63 billion USD, ranking 4th out of 180 countries and territories with Vietnamese investment capital. Vietnam's investment projects in Russia mainly focus on the Rusvietpetro Oil and Gas Joint Venture, the Hanoi - Moscow Cultural - Trade Center; and the TH Group's High-Tech Dairy Farming and Milk Processing Complex Project.

Vietnam-Russia economic and trade cooperation has developed dynamically in recent times, but is not commensurate with the potential of the two countries. According to official statistics, trade exchange in 2023 reached 2.63 billion USD, up 2.3%; in the first quarter of this year, it reached 1.11 billion USD, up 51.6%.

Vietnam's main exports to Russia include phones, electronics, textiles, footwear, agricultural and aquatic products; its main imports include coal, wheat, iron and steel, fertilizers, automobiles, machinery and equipment of all kinds.

Start making your mark in Russia…

TH Group studied the opportunity and decided to invest in the Russian Federation since 2015 with a high-tech dairy farming and milk processing project with an investment capital of 2.7 billion USD in 10 years, in the context of Russia at that time facing difficulties due to embargoes from Western countries, shortages of agricultural products, food, especially dairy products.

At that time, the Russian State, headed by President Vladimir Putin, had very attractive incentive and preferential policies for investors, especially in the agricultural sector - with strategies to develop Russian agriculture, such as tax incentives, interest rate reduction, procedural support, land allocation, etc.

Russia's agricultural investment incentive policies are very transparent and attractive, encouraging domestic and international investors to focus on this field, as practice has proven.

And that context is a huge market opportunity, which Labor Hero Thai Huong - Founder of TH Group - has clearly seen and she considered investing in Russia in that context as capturing the "golden spot" in business, with a superior and sustainable vision.

TH Group starts construction of dairy project in Far East - Russian Federation

The harshness of nature is " a priceless gift that nature has bestowed upon great Russia"

At the Eastern Economic Forum, on September 6, 2017, Hero of Labor Thai Huong commented on the Far East Region in her speech to President Vladimir Putin: “The Russian Federation has a large land area, but except for the lands in the South such as Sochi or Krasnodar... which have a longer production period, most of the year there are only 6 months that can be cultivated, the remaining 6 months are hibernating. But I consider that a priceless gift that nature has bestowed upon the great Russia”. According to Ms. Thai Huong's explanation, during the 6 months of hibernation, microorganisms work to create a priceless clean nutritional ecosystem for the soil and it is also a time for the soil to rest. Just by bringing in science - technology and management science, these lands will bloom, bringing unlimited values ​​that the world is dreaming of and aiming for - that is clean organic agriculture serving human life.

Labor Hero Thai Huong was the only woman among 40 investors to meet President Vladimir Putin and was one of 5 foreign investors invited to speak at the Eastern Economic Forum that year.

She also shared that investing in the $2.7 billion dairy farming and milk processing project in Russia was first and foremost out of love for Russia and gratitude to the Russian Federation - a country that spared no effort in helping Vietnam during the war.

The Russian Federation used to be an agricultural powerhouse. But in recent decades, farms, cooperatives, dairy farms, etc. have almost become deserted fields.

The lands in Russia where TH set foot and built farms and factories are all large fertile lands, suitable for dairy farming, which used to be prosperous farms in the former Soviet Union, but when handed over to TH, most of those large lands had become abandoned fields that had not been cultivated for 20-30 years, with tall trees growing into forests, remote locations, and difficult to travel, for example in Volokolamsk (Moscow province), in Kaluga (Kaluga province)... Especially, in the Far East, many lands were not only abandoned but also flooded due to the severely damaged irrigation system. Some areas were even isolated when the river water rose.

To date, TH Group has invested hundreds of millions of USD of its own capital in agricultural and construction machinery. Thanks to that, TH has completed the reclamation and cultivation of tens of thousands of hectares of wheat, grass, corn, sunflowers, rapeseed, soybeans, etc., turning more than 50,000 hectares of abandoned land into high-yield fields in project areas in Russia.

Of course, there are still many difficulties in infrastructure, this is an issue that requires the efforts of investors and local authorities. All parties will have to work together to solve it.

Currently, the total herd of dairy cows at the TH farm in Moscow is nearly 3,000, of which half are milking. Here, TH is completing the farm to reach a scale of 6,000 milking cows (total herd of 12,000 cows).

In Kaluga, the total herd at TH's farm is 3,300. The first phase of the 500-ton dairy factory at Kaluga Industrial Zone is under construction.

In the Far East, since 2021, TH has reclaimed and planted soybeans. In 2024, the Group's plan is to plant soybeans on an area of ​​2,150 hectares and reclaim about 5,200 hectares of land. In 2025, it will reclaim more than 4,000 hectares of land, bringing the entire 13,000 hectares of land received into cultivation.

TH's fields in Moscow and Kaluga provinces are always considered model fields, chosen as places to hold farming competitions, agricultural machinery exhibitions... Dairy farms are also developing every day.

This reality has shown that TH has technology, people, experience and is accelerating the effectiveness of project implementation in Russia. When businesses choose pioneering paths, it is not an easy path, but TH Group has been successful in Vietnam with projects on dairy farming, high-tech fresh milk processing, creating a fresh milk revolution, and has become a pioneering, leading fresh milk enterprise in Vietnam with a market share of the fresh milk segment reaching nearly 45%, becoming a typical example in combining high technology with 4.0 management science and investing seriously, honestly and methodically in agriculture. Those experiences are the "handbook" that brought TH to Russia and continued to pioneer achievements in this market.

Ms. Thai Huong respectfully received the painting "LOTUS" presented by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong on the occasion of the Groundbreaking Ceremony of the automated fresh milk processing factory of TH Group in Kaluga province, Russian Federation.

Symbol of Vietnam - Russia economic and trade cooperation

With an investment capital of 2.7 billion USD for TH Group's Project in Russia, TH has become the largest Vietnamese investor in the agricultural sector in the Russian Federation.

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong assessed TH's dairy project in Russia as one of the projects symbolizing economic and trade cooperation between Vietnam and the Russian Federation, when attending the Groundbreaking Ceremony of TH dairy factory in Kaluga in 2018.

Former National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, when visiting TH's farm in Russia at the end of 2019, commented: "The project demonstrates the will of Vietnamese entrepreneurs, especially a female entrepreneur, with the determination to proactively integrate and reach out to the world. This is proof that Vietnam not only rolls out the red carpet to invite foreign investment, but Vietnamese enterprises also have the capacity and will to invest abroad."

On October 13, 2023, attending the inauguration ceremony of phase 1 of the TH Group's 6,000-cow dairy farm - a total herd of 12,000 cows - took place in Volokolamsk, Moscow province: Mr. Nguyen Hong Dien, Minister of Industry and Trade, commented that TH's dairy project in Russia is "one of the symbolic projects for economic and trade cooperation" between Vietnam and the Russian Federation.

TH Group founder Thai Huong and former National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan visited TH's farm in Russia in late 2019.

On May 21, 2024, TH Group started the TH Dairy Cow Farming and Milk Processing Project in Nikolo-Mikhailovka village, Yakovlevsky district, Primorsky Krai territory, Russian Federation. The project has an investment capital of 19 billion rubles, equivalent to more than 5,200 billion VND. The coastal territory of Primorsky Krai, with the administrative center of Vladivostok city, is an area that Russian President Vladimir Putin affirmed as an absolute priority area of ​​Russia in the 21st century.

TH's investment in strategically located but struggling areas in the Russian Federation shows that TH Group is making an important contribution to creating new developments in economic investment cooperation and comprehensive strategic cooperation between Vietnam and Russia in recent years.

"The project demonstrates the will of Vietnamese entrepreneurs, especially a female entrepreneur, with the determination to proactively integrate and reach out to the ocean" - Former National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, when visiting TH's farm in Russia at the end of 2019, commented.

Hero of Labor Thai Huong also shared more about some development orientations of TH Group in Russia: “In addition to the dairy cow and milk processing project, TH Group has a policy of planting some other agricultural and forestry plants such as chrysanthemum - a plant rich in inulin - a type of long-chain fiber that has the effect of preventing cancer and protecting health. The demand for inulin in the world is very high, the source of chrysanthemum inulin in many places is mainly genetically modified, while chrysanthemum grown in Russia has the advantage of organic farming, increasing the value and pharmacological effects of the plant. TH Group has implemented a pilot planting in Kaluga and the results of the analysis of the active ingredient inulin of chrysanthemum are very impressive. In addition to the above advantages, Russia has majestic natural landscapes, a majestic beauty that captivates people, and most importantly, the sincerity, warmth, and kindness of the people in this country. That is the tourism asset that we are aiming for: Cultural tourism, historical tourism, tourism farm tours, regional tourism, so that we all feel the greatness of the thousand-year-old Russian country.

Thus, after the successful milestones in Kaluga and Moscow provinces, where TH farms and factories are considered key projects for economic development in the region, TH continues to take new steps in its investment journey to the Russian Federation, a bright spot in Vietnam - Russia cooperation, contributing to deepening the Vietnam - Russia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

At the invitation of General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin paid a State visit to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam from June 19 to 20, 2024. Russian President Putin's visit to Vietnam on June 19-20 is expected to create opportunities for the two sides to sign and implement new cooperation agreements, creating momentum to promote bilateral relations.

PV