Nestlé's massive new $238m Vietnam coffee factory meets local demand

Nestlé says its newly opened $238m soluble coffee factory in Vietnam will meet growing demand in the region, and will allow it to better adapt products to local preferences.

The new CHF 230m ($238m) factory in Dong Nai province has created more than 200 new jobs, and will manufacture coffee for both local consumption and for export.

Wayne England, Nestlé Indochina Chairman and CEO, said: “We are investing in the future of coffee production and consumption in Vietnam and the region."

He added that the new factory demonstrated the firm's "long-term commitment to Vietnam and our continued confidence in the region".

Nestlé said it trained more than 19,600 coffee farmers in Vietnam in 2012 under its 'Nescafé Plan', and aims to train roughly the same number again in 2013; it also plans to distribute two million high-yield, disease-resistant coffee plantlets.

The world's largest food company is also working with the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in a public-private partnership to help improve farmers’ productivity by promoting better coffee growing practices.

More to follow...