With favourable climate and land advantages, the agriculture sector in Hoa Binh has been attracting investment from enterprises, organisations, and cooperatives, gradually asserting the position of some local specialties in the international market.
Farmers in Dan Chu ward, Hoa Binh City, tend chilli gardens for processing and export purposes.
With determination and dedication, Ngo Duc Sinh, Director of the Kim Boi JSC in Vai area, Ba Hang Doi town, Lac Thuy district, has successfully realised the dream of introducing bamboo shoots grown in the land inhabited by the Muong ethnic group to the world.
He said: "During a trip to Hoa Binh in 2010, I visited the Kim Boi bamboo shoot company. Through a conversation with its leaders, I noticed their disappointment with the business. Production was declining and the output was not kept stable for a long time, resulting in unprofitable business and unstable employment."
Seeing a new opportunity in the business, Sinh expressed his intention to buy the factory. Seven days after the proposal, an economic contract was signed, handover records were agreed upon, and he became the new director of the company.
Understanding the characteristics of each type of bamboo shoot, Sinh has invested in expanding production and diversifying goods. At present, the company’s products are available in supermarkets and e-commerce platforms across the country, and also found their way to some other countries such as Japan, the Republic of Korea (RoK), the Netherlands, Germany, and the UK. In 2023, the firm exported over 430 tonnes of fresh and processed bamboo shoots, dried noodles, and pickled mustard greens, among others, reeling in a revenue of over 20.11 billion VND (804,400 USD).
Starting with the first sugar cane order to export to the German market at the end of 2021, the Tien Ngan Trading Investment Company Limited in Dan Chu ward, Hoa Binh City, have delivered similar products to the Republic of Korea, the UK, and the US. Currently, it remains the first and only enterprise in Hoa Binh processing sugar cane for exports.
Nguyen Le Diep, the director of the company, said as a new enterprise operating in the export field, Tien Ngan encountered high raw material prices, and limited connectivity capacity and market search, and many difficulties in establishing the raw material area.
Recently, with the support from the province’s specialised units and agriculture sector, the company has exported its first batch of pickled chili peppers to the RoK. This year, Tien Ngan plans to increase the export volume of fresh sugar cane, pickled chili, while studying market demand to expand the market for new products.
In 2023, Hoa Binh shipped various products to Japan, China, the Netherlands, the UK, and the RoK, among others, for a turnover of more than 978.45 billion VND, including 615.74 billion VND worth of farm produce exports.
Le Minh Thuy, Director of the provincial sub-department of agro-forestry-fishery quality management, stated that the export value of local agricultural and forestry products increased by 10.01% last year, compared to 2022.
This year, the agency continues to advise the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to create favourable conditions to attract farming enterprises and producers, support their implementation of product traceability, and coordinate trade promotion events involving the local agricultural goods.
According to data from the Hoa Binh Provincial Party Committee, the industrial production index for the first six months of 2025 is estimated to have increased by 20% compared to the same period last year. This marks the highest year-on-year growth rate for this period since 2020.
In the first six months of 2025, Hoa Binh province’s export turnover was estimated at 1.145 billion USD, marking an 18.11% increase compared to the same period in 2024. Import turnover was estimated at $ 804 million, a 17.15% increase, which helped the province maintain a positive trade balance.
The lives of the ethnic minority farmers in Tan Lac district have gradually improved thanks to the new directions in agricultural production. This is a testament to the collective strength fostered through the professional associations and groups implemented by various levels of the district’s Farmers’ Union.
With the motto the "product quality comes first,” after nearly one year of establishment and operation, Muong village’s Clean Food Agricultural and Commercial Cooperative, located in Cau Hamlet, Hung Son Commune (Kim Boi district), has launched reputable, high-quality agricultural products to the market that are well-received by consumers. The products such as Muong village’s pork sausage, salt-cured chicken, and salt-cured pork hocks have gradually carved out a place in the market and they are on the path to obtaining the OCOP certification.
In the past, the phrase "bumper harvest, rock-bottom prices" was a familiar refrain for Vietnamese farmers engaged in fragmented, small-scale agriculture. But today, a new spirit is emerging across rural areas of Hoa Binh province - one of collaboration, organisation, and collective economic models that provide a stable foundation for production.
Maintaining growing area codes and packing facility codes in accordance with regulations is a mandatory requirement for agricultural products to be eligible for export. Recently, the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Hoa Binh province has intensified technical supervision of designated farming areas and packing facilities to safeguard the "green passport" that enables its products to access international markets.
