Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said his Government encouraged foreign firms in milk production and processing to expand production, upgrade technology and apply energy-saving solutions in the country.

He said this during his meeting with the representatives of some milk companies in New Zealand in Auckland on March 13 as part of his official visit to the country.

During his reception for Lukas Paravicini, chief executive of Fonterra Cooperative Group Ltd - the leading milk exporter of New Zealand, Phuc said Viet Nam appreciated the cooperation of the firm with its Vietnamese partners. He highlighted the development of Viet Nam’s dairy and nutritional food market, saying the 93-million-strong market was considered one of the most attractive market groups in the world.

Talking about the vast opportunities brought by the newly signed Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, Phuc expressed hope that Fonterra and other enterprises in New Zealand would fully tap those opportunities to increase investment in Viet Nam with the aim of expanding their market to other ASEAN member nations.

He said the Vietnamese Government would promote investment in developing the dairy sector as well as create favourable conditions for enterprises to foster production in the field, contributing to generating more jobs and improving social welfare.

On his part, Paravicini affirmed his firm’s interest in the Vietnamese market and said Fonterra had cooperated with many Vietnamese dairy firms.

He said the group was providing dairy material for Viet Nam’s dairy, beverage and nutritional food companies and was selling high-quality products in the Vietnamese market.

Fonterra pledged to further boost cooperation with Vietnamese enterprises, broadening its investment for production and business in Viet Nam, Paravicini said.

The same day, Phuc received Kim Willoughby, director of Deosan Company, and Victor Truong, director of Richmond Company.

Expressing their pleasure to meet the Vietnamese leader, the representatives of the two companies said they had worked with a number of Vietnamese partners with the intention of assisting Vietnamese firms in producing and processing dairy, contributing to improving the capacity of Vietnamese dairy companies.

Willoughby spoke highly of the development potential of leading dairy businesses in Viet Nam, such as Vinamilk and TH True Milk. He said Deosan had cooperated with Vietnamese farmers processing milk and planned to invest in the dairy industry in Viet Nam.

He also said Deosan would support Viet Nam’s dairy farms by providing suitable products and services, such as milking equipment and consumer goods, veterinary services, farm design management and quality management.

Phuc said he highly valued Deosan’s assistance to Vietnamese dairy companies and affirmed that the Vietnamese Government always supported business and cooperation with local firms.

Viet Nam is developing its dairy-processing industry in a modern and comprehensive direction, aiming to improve its competitiveness for regional and global integration, Phuc said. — VNS