Long Son Joint Stock Company is the leading cashew exporter in Vietnam and the second largest in the world by revenue. With more than 20 years, Long Son had confronted numerous hardships from State policies to production, research and marketing. The today position and success comes from the shrewd leadership of the Board of Directors, the support of local authorities and the dedication of the staff. Long Son-branded products have been exported to many countries in the world, even to the most fastidious customers. In two years (2012 and 2013), the company’s revenue exceeded VND1 trillion a year. In three years (2014 - 2016), the respective annual revenue was VND2 trillion, over VND3 trillion and VND4 trillion. In 2017, 90 per cent of products are exported to other countries in the world.

Vu Thai Son, dedicated leader of Long Son Joint Stock Company, always seeks for being better. Previously, he was a professional translator for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ delegations, Vietnamese and foreign business organizations. He found that Vietnam has many opportunities and potential to win other countries in cashew nut production and export. “I embarked on my intention immediately. I started with cashew nut brokerage. After having enough fund, I built a cashew nut factory. Despite being a new enterprise, Long Son luckily borrowed money from many banks to do business. Currently, we are expanding export shipments to European countries,” he said.

An important turning point of the company was the construction of Long Son Factory. The company set up a modern Western-style management process for this facility, getting rid of the family-controlled model. With this growth momentum, the company continued to build factories in Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, Dong Nai, Long An, Khanh Hoa, Phan Rang, Gia Lai and Phu Yen. The parent company in Ho Chi Minh City controls the factory system to operate properly.

Binh Phuoc has abundant cashew nut supplies, laborious, experienced workforce. However, it is not easy to stabilise cashew nut sources because cashew trees are easily affected by climate, water and soil. “Importing cashew nuts, particularly from Africa, for production is a practical necessity. We will also transfer cashew growing techniques to increase productivity in exporting countries. These are both potential production and consumption markets. Long Son has conducted studies on building production facilities in Africa,” he said.

Consumers now tend to use organic, safe and quality products that are certified for food hygiene and safety to protect their health. Developing the cashew industry in this direction is an indispensable step. Hence, he hoped that authorities will pay more attention to the traceability of organic products on the market to enhance the responsibility of producers and traders and support organic products. On the business side, they will need to strictly comply with quality regulations such as no chemical intervention, antibiotics, growth hormones or genetically modified ingredients.

Son admitted that his company and its peers lack experienced and dedicated employees. Workers have not been equipped with necessary requirements like foreign languages, professional qualifications and production responsibility.

Department of Industry and Trade of Vietnam expected that the cashew industry is one of main exports to earn US$3 billion by 2020 to become a key export of the country. To achieve this goal, it is essential to focus on fundamental factors: applying science and technology; training human resources and conducting product researches. Besides, it is necessary to support cashew growers to sell their products to form global value chains for cashew nuts. For the time being, tasks and solutions have been clear enough. Importantly, the cashew industry needs to add efforts and pick up the pace to realize all targets.
N.Nga