The People’s Committee of the southern province of Tra Vinh has decided to call for investment worth VND710 billion (US$31.5 million) to develop the local food processing sector.

The sector’s development is aimed at helping raise the province’s industrial production value to VND40 trillion ($1.78 billion) by 2020.

Specifically, the seafood processing industry is expected to create jobs for 1,700 locals and post production value of VND554 billion. The province plans to have 28 cattle and poultry slaughter houses, employing 1,800 people and contributing VND106 billion to the province’s industrial production value.

It also hopes to reap VND4 billion in revenue from vegetable and fruit processing.

Key projects that the province would focus on include a peanut processing factory in Cau Ngang District with production capacity of 10,000 tonnes per year and plants processing beverages from fruits and vegetables in Cau Ke and Tieu Can districts with annual capacity of two million tonnes.

Other projects that need to be developed are a factory processing fruits and vegetables for export in Tra Vinh City’s Long Duc Commune and a plant processing cattle and poultry meat in Tra Cu District, with annual capacity of 20,000 tonnes each.

In the near future, the province will expand a seafood processing factory in Duyen Hai Town with designed capacity of 15,000 tonnes per year.

As planned, the province will mobilise VND700 billion from private enterprises to finance the activities, while the rest will be sourced from the local State budget and other project funds such as the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Development Project and the project for Adaptation to Climate Change in the Mekong Delta (AMD Tra Vinh). — VNS