Nguyen Van Tan
Director, Trade and Process
Foodstuffs Company (Thong Tan Asia Food)
Vietnam

Thong Tan company was established in October 30, 2000. However, its beginnings can be traced back to 1993 when Nguyen Van Tan began with producing fruit and vegetable products. Mr. Tan wanted to establish the company since he saw that Vietnam was a country with 80% of the industry focused on agriculture. As such, Mr. Tan wanted to help the poor farmers. He showed them how to use the land by giving advice on what products to plant on particular seasons, as well as how to divide their land. The products of Thong Tan are not only enjoyed in the domestic market but in many places all over the world such as the United States, Russia, France, Czech Republic, Poland, Germany, Hungary, Romania, Mongolia and many more. Their quality Vietnamese vegetables undergo continuous research in order for the company to continually innovate and come up with various kinds of products. These traditional Vietnamese food products have to meet certain health criteria while maintaining their authentic flavor. Thong Tan’s slogan is “Create Reputation, Safety and Quality”. The company is also willing to cooperate and receive help from other companies as well as widen their market by expanding to different countries and provinces.

Mr. Tan, aside from Trade and Process Foodstuffs Company, believes that Vietnam’s participation in world trade is greatly beneficial. Mr. Tan sees that increased competition brought by Vietnam’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) will not affect his company too much for two reasons. First, he trusts the high quality and good taste of his products, and the loyalty of his clients. His main customers are Vietnamese living abroad and people who enjoy Asian cuisine. Second, his company just exports foodstuffs to other countries. Joining the WTO opened Vietnam to more trade, and increase food imports to the country. Since Mr. Tan exports food, increased food imports are irrelevant. Mr. Tan chooses to export his products to countries that already have similar products to the ones he manufactures. Even if his target market has a local or foreign company that produces the same products he wishes to export, he enters the market because he believes that he offers a superior product. Meanwhile, Mr. Tan sees that the WTO presents a great opportunity for him, his company, and the whole country. He also spoke about APEC, specifically mentioning that APEC gives all member economies a clearer perspective of Vietnam’s products and also widens the market. Finally, Mr. Tan has seen changes in the Vietnamese government’s support for exporting businesses. Before Vietnam joined the WTO, the government permitted Mr. Tan’s company to use land for free and also provided subsidy. In fact, ten years before joining the WTO, banks in Vietnam already lent money to companies based on strict criteria. However, nowadays, banks decide who they lend money to based on the company’s ability and economic sustainability.

Overall, Mr. Tan was very optimistic about the company’s future, as well as Vietnam’s entrance to the WTO. He focuses more on the advantages brought about by these recent milestones which were a bit surprising considering that these events meant fewer subsidies for his company as well as vulnerability to the possible changes in the labor laws.

Name of Interviewer: Ha Hoang Yen, Tran Thu Trang

Written By: Ha Hoang Yen, Tran Thu Trang, Daniella Fergusson, Diane Tan, Hector Montfort, Chengshan Zhang