Nguyen Quang Tri (left), marketing director of Vinamilk, receives the Global Food Industry Awards at the 17th World Congress of Food Science and Technology & Expo in Montreal, Canada. — Photo plo.vn

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — The Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (Vinamilk) has won the top prize at the Global Food Industry Awards recently held in Montreal, Canada.

The contest, sponsored by the International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST), aims to honour and recognize the outstanding products, packaging and communication campaigns of global food companies.

The awarding ceremony took place at the 17th World Congress of Food Science and Technology & Expo in Montreal on August 18.

A panel of judges consisting of 10 top scientists from 10 member countries selected the winner after assessing the quality of the products of competing companies. A judge from the United States joined counterparts from China, Switzerland, Canada and Singapore in the selection process.

According to a report of the Nielsen information and measurement company, Vinamilk accounts for the largest share of the Vietnamese dairy market at 51.3 per cent.

In the first half of 2014, the company earned VND17,284 billion (US$823 million), which was 15 per cent higher than that of the same period last year. But its after-tax profit reached VND2,971 billion ($141.4 million), which was 12 per cent lower than that of the same period last year. — VNS