Success Story: The Suong Family Business
Cocoa Pioneers in Ben Tre Province
When cocoa was first introduced to Ben Tre Province in 2001, Mr. Nam Suong was one of the first farmers to see its potential. He was an active participant in the training sessions led by Nong Lam University and was particularly interested in learning asexual propagation techniques. He applied his training to establish the first private nursery in Vietnam producing grafted cocoa seedlings. But, Mr. Suong, a true pioneer in the sector, was ahead of his time. Although Ben Tre is now the main cocoa producing province in Vietnam, in 2001 there were few farmers interested in planting cocoa and demand for seedlings was not sufficient to support
Mr. Suong’s business.
Despite this initial setback, the Suong family remained confident in the prospects for cocoa development in the region. In 2004, farmers’ interest in growing cocoa began to increase as the local market became more established. The Suong family re-established a cocoa business with Mrs. Suong taking the lead. Mrs. Suong became the first private cocoa collector in Ben Tre Province buying both dry beans and whole cocoa pods. The best looking pods are sold for the local fruit juice market (pictured at right), and the remaining beans are fermented and dried.
Fine-tuning Fermentation Techniques
Over time, Mrs. Suong has applied her training to fine-tune her fermentation technique (pictured at left). She is able to control the temperature of the cocoa mass during fermentation and make adjustments to the process depending on the quantity of beans, ambient temperature, and temperature of the cocoa mass.
Drying the beans was challenging and Mrs. Suong had to closely monitor the weather. In 2006, this problem was solved when Mrs. Suong received assistance to build a solar dryer from the Collaboration for Agriculture and Rural Development Program (CARD), a joint project of the Australian and Vietnamese governments.
“This dryer helps me a lot when it rains; I don’t have to rush bringing my beans inside the house and then outside afterwards,” says Mrs. Suong.
Today, Mrs. Suong’s beans are always given high scores on the cut test for quality. The Suong family’s business is the main private cocoa collector in Ben Tre and the main supplier to WCF Member, ED&F Man Cocoa in the province.
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