In 2023, the Ministry of Industry and Trade approved the national industrial promotion project in Dien Bien province “Supporting the application of advanced machinery and equipment in macadamia processing” for two beneficiary units. On that basis, the provincial Industrial Promotion and Development Consultancy Center quickly guided the beneficiaries to complete dossiers on procurement of advanced machinery and equipment, at the same time, monitoring the implementation process, removing bottlenecks and accepting the project as scheduled.

Testing a macadamia nut drying machine at Phuc Son One Member Company Limited - photo: Dien Bien Industrial Promotion and Development Consultancy Center

Accordingly, the center coordinated with Phuc Son One Member Company Limited to implement and test part I of the project “Supporting the application of a reversible air dryer”; and with Dai Phu One Member Company Limited to support and organize testing of part II “Supporting the application of a 24-tray dryer (stainless steel mesh tray).”

Regarding the effectiveness of the project, Duong Minh Huan - Director of Dai Phu Co., Ltd., the profit that the 24-tray dryer brings accounts for about 30 percent in the profit structure, equivalent to about VND153 million a year.

As for the quality of the product after applying advanced equipment, a representative of Phuc Son Company said that the reversible air dryer helps control the moisture of macadamia nuts for long-term preservation, and secure the nutritional quality of the nuts after harvest.

With the specific characteristics of post-harvest macadamia nuts, the products will gradually lose its nutritional value over time if not promptly processed and properly preserved, and can even be discarded immediately if they are not processed by a moisture separation system after harvest.

In that circumstance, the group industry promotion project was implemented at the right time, initially bringing efficiency in macadamia processing for production facilities. The project also created a sustainable chain of links between enterprises and growers, helping Dien Bien develop macadamia trees to become one of the key crops in economic development of the province.