Agriculture Minister offers three sites for Vietnamese dairy investment

Agriculture Minister Andi Amri Sulaiman stated when receiving a visit from Madam Thai Huong, Chairman of TH Group Vietnam, that his ministry has prepared strategic locations for the dairy industry investment commitments of Vietnamese companies.

"As a form of facilitation, the Agriculture Ministry has prepared three strategic locations that can be used for dairy farm investment, namely [the regencies of] Wajo and Sidenreng Rappang, South Sulawesi [Province], [the regencies of] North Barito and South Barito, Central Kalimantan [Province]; and [the Napu Valley in] Poso [Regency], Central Sulawesi," he revealed on Feb. 16, 2025.

Amran said that the success of the dairy industry does not only depend on land, but also adequate infrastructure.

"Therefore, we are committed to building better road access, ensuring a stable electricity supply, as well as providing health and education facilities for workers in this sector," he said.

In addition, the Indonesian government is also ready to provide various policy incentives for TH Group Vietnam. Some of those offered are exemption from import duties for livestock and dairy industry equipment, to funding schemes with competitive interest rates and livestock business insurance.

Amran explained that livestock investment for the development of the dairy industry is indeed necessary, adding that Indonesia has a fairly large need for milk and beef. Currently, domestic fresh milk production is only able to meet around 20 percent of national needs, with a deficit reaching 4.9 million tons. That number has increased with the new government's free nutritious meal program, which adds the need for 3.6 million tons of fresh milk. 

"Hence, the additional production needs to be 8.5 million tons for fresh cow milk and 0.88 million tons for beef," Amran divulged.