On Sept. 20, Vietnam's Vinasun began producing instant food products in its new factory in Kaniv, Cherkassy Oblast.
Vietnamese businesses are increasingly finding their niche within Ukraine, where several have launched local production of goods, both for sale in the country and abroad.
On Sept. 20, Vietnam’s Vinasun began producing instant food products in its new factory in Kaniv, Cherkassy oblast.
The company invested $5 million in the 100 percent Vietnamese-owned plant, which produces instant noodles, flaked potatoes and spice mixtures under the brand Sprytny Kukhar. The factory’s capacity is currently 15 million noodle packages per month, yet future plans include production of up to 30 types of products, including chips and pastries.
According to Viet Chung Nguen, Vinasun’s president, the noodle factory is the company’s first attempt to produce products in Ukraine, though the company entered the Russian market when it opened two similar factories in 1996, outside Moscow and Saint Petersburg. Vinasun came to Ukraine in 2002, and began importing palm oil for use in food and cosmetic products. “We consider the Ukrainian market, with 48 million people, as important for our business as the Russian market. And conditions in Russia and Ukraine for investors are nearly the same,” he said.
Opportunities in Ukraine’s food industry, considered a relatively safe industry for foreign investment, do exist, Nguen said. Especially for entrepreneurs who are familiar with local ways, he added.
“We’ve been cooperating with Russia and Ukraine for decades, so we know the mentality, and how to work in local conditions,” he added.
Vinasun’s instant-noodle plant, managed by Vietnamese employees, has created jobs for 400 local employees, and provided business for several domestic flour suppliers. The factory was reconstructed from an old Soviet plant in 10 months, and all the equipment was delivered from Taiwan.
Maria Kabakova, marketing manager for Vinasun, said the semi-prepared food market is huge, and growing every day.
“Apart from Mivina, another Vietnamese enterprise, there are no competitors who produce instant noodles on the local market.”
Like Vinasun, Vietnam’s Technocom manufactures instant food products. Since 1993 the company has produced noodles and rice chips under the brand Mivina, in Kharkiv oblast.
The firm pumped $8 million into its third Mivina factory, which opened for production in July. Technocom produces 70,000 tons of Mivina-brand noodles and rice chips annually.
Vietnam has invested $25 million in Ukraine during the last 8 years, said Vu Van Quang, Commercial Counselor of the Embassy of Vietnam.
“The investment climate in the country allows Vietnamese enterprises to develop successfully,” he said, adding that trade turnover between the two countries reached $250 million last year, and is expected to be the same this year.
Based on the embassy’s data, there are about 50 Vietnamese expatriates currently living and working in Ukraine, many in Vietnamese-owned businesses.
Though the number is not large, Vietnamese companies are involved in several industries here, including production of plastics and parquet.
