Illustrative image (Source: Internet) Hanoi (VNA) - Dairy giant Vietnam Dairy Products (Vinamilk) has recently partnered with Topmost Enterprise Co., Ltd of Thailand, aiming to expand the distribution of its dairy products in the country – a market worth 60 billion baht (over 1.7 billion USD).
This is part of the firm’s efforts to expand its presence abroad, towards becoming one of the world’s top 50 dairy firms
Managing director of Topmost Enterprise Siwat Thamaratnothai asked Vinamilk to let his firm serve as a distributor of Vinamilk in Thailand after enjoying a Vinamilk yoghurt during a trip to Vietnam.
Three months ago, the firm began selling Vinamilk yoghurt in Thailand at selected shops such as Lawson convenience stores and Foodland supermarkets, among others.
Vinamilk yoghurt is priced at 17-19 baht (about 0.5 USD a cup), higher than other brands. Topmost Enterprise plans to expand distribution in the second quarter of next year.
A market analyst said Vinamilk has huge potential in Thailand. The yoghurt market in Thailand is worth an estimated 4.9 billion baht (nearly 140 million USD) in 2016.
After yoghurt, Topmost Enterprise also plans to sell Vinamilk UHT milk in Thailand.
Vinamilk has mostly focused on the domestic market over the last four decades, with the last 18 years seeing shipments of its products abroad.
The firm spent 10 million USD purchasing all the shares in the Driftwood factory – a leading milk producer in North California, the US. Driftwood earned 119 million USD in revenue last year, contributing 6.5 percent to Vinamilk’s total revenue.
Apart from Driftwood Dairy, Vinamilk also owns stakes in dairy companies in Poland, New Zealand and Cambodia.
Vinamilk holds a 55-percent market share in Vietnam’s dairy industry, partly thanks to spending more than 6.5 trillion VND (291.3 million USD) on building highly automated factories over the last five years.
Last year, the firm raked in over 40 trillion VND (1.8 billion USD) in revenue, a year-on-year increase of 15 percent, contributing over 3.9 trillion VND to the State budget.
Vinamilk’s products are sold in about 1,500 supermarkets and 600 convenience stores across the country, and exported to 43 countries and territories worldwide.-VNA
