Vietnamese dairy producer TH Group on Tuesday began the construction of a cow farming and milk processing project with an estimated price tag of 19 billion rubles (US$209 million) in Russia.

The project includes a farm with 12,000 cows, including 6,000 dairy cows, a milk processing factory with a capacity of 250 metric tons per day, and a 13,000-hectare material area in Yakovlevsky District, Primorsky Krai, located in the Far East region of Russia.

This is an important milestone in TH Group's execution of dairy projects in Russia, following successes in Kaluga and Moscow, where TH’s farms and factories are considered key economic development projects.

Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony, Ngo Minh Hai, chairman of TH Group, said the group would reclaim 13,000 hectares of land in Primorsky Krai for its material area.

When the milk processing factory is put into operation by the end of 2027, its input materials will be sourced from this material area, forming a closed production chain which will apply advanced technologies and contribute to Primorsky's GDP growth, Hai added.

Besides farming cows and processing milk, TH Group will also grow alfalfa grass and soybeans for export.

Nguyen Dang Hien, Vietnamese Consul General in Vladivostok, the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, expressed his belief in the project’s future operations.

It will help bring practical economic value to both Vietnam and Russia and strengthen the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries, the consul general said.

Meanwhile, Korenchuk Alexey Alexandrovich, chief of Yakovlevsky District, pinned high hopes on changes to the area after TH Group’s project is put into operation.

He also showed surprise at TH Group farms’ average daily milk productivity of 40 liters per cow, higher than the 25-30 liters in Russia.

He thanked TH Group for implementing the project in Yakovlevsky, which will create many job opportunities for local people.

TH Group's project is the largest-ever in Primorsky Krai, Alexandrovich told media.

TH Group has made Russia’s Far East region a priority in its project development.

After Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yury Trutnev’s official visit to Vietnam and working session with TH Group to introduce the region’s potential in early 2017, TH Group sent a delegation of experts to survey potential areas in Primorsky Krai.

The Vietnamese dairy firm officially became a member of the Mikhailovsky Advanced Special Economic Zone in September 2017.

TH Group has faced multiple difficulties in Primorsky Krai due to the low-lying terrain and underdeveloped power, road, and gas systems.

Most of the region’s agricultural land was flooded and abandoned for years given a shortage of canals and drainage systems.

However, the firm had received great support from local authorities, TH Group chairman Hai said.

TH Group is Vietnam's largest investor in Russia’s agriculture.

It has put into operation two farms with over 6,000 dairy cows and is developing another in Moscow and a dairy factory in Kaluga.

In 2023, trade turnover between Vietnam and the Far East region of Russia reached $257 million, of which Primorsky Krai accounted for about 65 percent or $167 million.

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