Nafoods produces juice concentrate and frozen fruit, soft dried tropical fruit and nut butter for export. The firm received a US$5 million loan to boost its production, — Photo courtesy of Nafoods

Agricultural production firm Nafoods Group Joint Stock Company received a long term loan of US$5 million from the Helsinki-based Finnfund.

Nafoods will use the six-year loan to invest in production lines of high-quality agricultural products in its factory in southern Long An Province, where they produce different dried fruit products with a capacity of 150 tonnes per month.

It will also produce 150 tonnes of natural cashew products and cashew butter per month in the factory.

Chairman and CEO of Nafoods Nguyen Manh Hung said: “With Finnfund's support, we will be able to accelerate the production plan.”

“By sourcing fruits from various regions in Viet Nam, Nafoods is improving the incomes of small-holder farmers”, said Markus Pentikäinen, Finnfunds’ Investment Manager.

Finnfund's Chief Investment Officer said: “With modern equipment and packaging systems, Nafoods is a good example of a business that creates jobs and developes a closed agricultural value chain.”

Founded in 1995 in Nghe An Province in the centre of Viet Nam, Nafoods’ core businesses include seedlings, juice concentrate and frozen fruit, soft dried tropical fruit and nut butter. The firm’s products have been exported to more than 60 countries worldwide, reaching an annual revenue growth of over 42 per cent for the past two years.

In 2019, the firm reported VND50 billion (US$2.13 million) in net profit, an increase of 25 per cent from 2018. Last June, it also raised an $8 million quasi-equity investment from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), which is now holding 27.8 per cent preference shares of Nafoods.

On April 1, the firm's shares with the sticker NAF on the HCM Stock Exchange gained 2.2 per cent to stay at VND22,000 each. — VNS