Lien Viet Post Joint Stock Commercial Bank (LienVietPostBank) will provide preferential credit of VND3 trillion (US$131.8 million) to plant macadamia and cash crops (coffee and pepper) in the Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) province of Dak Nong.

This money will be used to support macadamia farmers, organisations and firms purchasing and processing macadamia and developing cash crops in this Central Highlands province.

The bank last year provided a VND10 trillion loan to promote macadamia plantation in Lam Dong Province and co-ordinated with insurance agencies to introduce an agricultural insurance scheme for macadamia.

In addition, the Him Lam Joint Stock Company has committed to invest VND1 trillion in planting macadamia, developing raw material areas and constructing a macadamia processing factory in Lam Dong Province.

With this credit package, LienVietPostBank is considered one of the leading firms in promoting the Vietnamese macadamia industry.

The macadamia nut is dubbed as the "Queen of Nuts" for its outstanding nutritional value and high concentration of mono-unsaturated fats.

The plant, indigenous to Australia, was introduced to Viet Nam in 2002 by former deputy prime minister Nguyen Cong Tan through a trial cultivation in some central provinces, including Lam Dong, Dak Nong and Dak Lak. After more than a decade under trial cultivation, it was found that Viet Nam produced a higher yield of macadamias than other countries.

Local scientists have tested and found that the north-western and Central Highlands regions have conditions best suited for the plant’s growth.

By September 2014, the plant covered 1,600ha in the Central Highlands region. — VNS