Dak Lak province is considered the “agricultural product capital” of the country, yet most agricultural commodities are still exported in raw form. Therefore, developing the deep processing industry is essential to enhance the value of agricultural products.

Dak Lak province ranks third nationwide in term of agricultural production scale, with more than 840,000 hectares under cultivation. Among them are over 217,000 hectares of coffee, nearly 29,000 hectares of pepper, and around 45,000 hectares of durian. However, the economic value of these agricultural products is not commensurate with their potential due to the majority being exported as raw materials.

According to the Department of Industry and Trade, although the provincial level of deep processing is higher than the national average, it currently only reaches from 10% to 20%, while the proportion of exports in raw form accounts for roughly 80%. Over-reliance on selling fresh, raw products makes the entire supply chain vulnerable to technical barriers alongside fluctuations in the international market.

Wet processed coffee is one of the methods to improve the quality of refined processed coffee products at Aeroco Coffee Co., Ltd.

As someone directly involved in finding a direction for specialty coffee beans, Mr. Le Dinh Tu, Director of Aeroco Coffee Co., Ltd., shared: “To create high-quality products (fine and specialty), the process from seed selection, organic farming to hand-picking to achieve over 95% ripeness must be strictly controlled. The real value lies in the deep processing stage, yet not every company has the capacity to stay as well as standardize the technology.”

Removing infrastructure “bottlenecks”, unlocking “green channel” mechanisms

Investment in deep-processing in Dak Lak province has faced numerous obstacles, involving inconsistent logistics infrastructure, unstable raw material sources, and limited processing technology.

To facilitate capital flow, the province is focusing on improving institutions, removing land-related obstacles, providing investment incentives, along with implementing a “green channel” mechanism for the large-scale processing projects applying high technology.

Fruit processing operations at Chanh Thu Dak Lak Export Fruit Processing Factory.

During the first four months of 2026, the province licensed 10 new projects with a total capital exceeding 4.75 trillion VND, of which 6 projects are in the fields of agricultural, forestry, and aquatic product processing alongside energy. These projects are strongly focused on fruit processing and high-tech livestock farming.

Ms. Dang Thi Thuy, Deputy Director of Dak Lak Provincial Department of Agriculture and Environment, affirmed: “The province is prioritising investment in supply chain infrastructure, supporting machinery for preliminary processing coupled with preservation for cooperatives, along with connecting circular economy resources. Priority is given to projects applying advanced technology, digital transformation, ensuring efficient resource utilisation and environmental friendliness to bring local agricultural products to meet stringent standards in Europe, the US, combined with Japan.” 

The province is also accelerating development of processing infrastructure through specialized industrial zones and clusters. A prime example is the Tan Tien industrial cluster, with a total investment exceeding 471 billion VND, planned to become a specialized center for the export fruit industry with a closed ecosystem.

Simultaneously, the province is implementing solutions to improve food quality coupled with safety, promote traceability, apply AI, and support businesses in technological innovation to develop deep processing industries as well as enhance the value added across agricultural products.

Translated by TRINH THUY