Focusing on enhancing value for key local products

In accordance with the provincial industrial promotion plan for 2025 approved by the Lao Cai Provincial People’s Committee under Document No. 79/KH-UBND, 7 rural industrial establishments will receive funding support to implement specific development initiatives.

Carpentry and woodworking are among industries that Lao Cai 's industrial promotion programs prioritizes support for in 2025.

The document emphasizes encouraging and assisting organizations, individuals, and all economic sectors in investing in and expanding industrial and handicraft production. The overarching goal is to leverage local strengths, conserve resources, and especially enhance the added value and competitiveness of local products.

The plan also targets rural industrial establishments in high-potential sectors with strong domestic and export market prospects, particularly in the processing of agricultural and forestry products, medicinal herbs, and handicrafts.

This year, district-level industrial promotion in Lao Cai is tasked with supporting five rural industrial facilities across Lao Cai City, Bac Ha District, and Muong Khuong District through five individual projects.

These include support for investment in woodworking machinery at Ly Seo So's facility in Bac Ha District; provision of agricultural processing equipment at Sung Pao's facility in Muong Khuong District; supply of mechanical processing machinery for Minh Linh Construction and Trading Co., Ltd. in Lao Cai City; assistance with mechanical production equipment for Nguyen Ngoc Thai’s facility in Lao Cai City; and installation of an automatic tea bag production line at the Agricultural Medicine and Green Technology Joint Stock Company, also based in Lao Cai City.

The total budget for these activities is estimated at over VND 4.1 billion, of which more than VND 1.2 billion comes from industrial promotion funds, while nearly VND 2.9 billion is contributed by the participating businesses themselves. Currently, the Lao Cai Center for Industrial Promotion and Trade Promotion is working closely with local districts and rural facilities to implement the approved projects.

Alongside these efforts, the Department of Industry and Trade of Lao Cai is also conducting a comprehensive review of the 2021–2025 industrial promotion programs to ensure that all objectives are met on schedule.

Laying the groundwork for a new phase of growth

Lao Cai has set ambitious targets for its 2021–2025 industrial promotion program. The province aims to generate over VND 5.31 trillion in output from cottage industries, create more than 3,000 new jobs, and increase the average production scale of rural manufacturing facilities from VND 1.27 billion to over VND 2 billion per facility. The program also seeks to refine management processes and improve the capacity for executing industrial promotion activities.

Through the industrial promotion program, Lao Cai supports the development of production and consumption of rural industrial products. Photo: Thanh Minh

Three years into the implementation, Lao Cai has carried out 44 projects under the program, with a total support budget of more than VND 6 billion. The initiatives have focused primarily on vocational training, skills transfer, managerial capacity building for rural industries, adoption of advanced machinery, and the development of signature rural industrial products.

Initial assessments show that the program has effectively supported rural industrial enterprises and production facilities across the province, contributing to increased productivity, revenue, and employment. The outcomes so far suggest that the program is largely on track to meet its objectives.

However, like many other mountainous provinces, Lao Cai faces certain challenges. Funding levels for industrial promotion remain relatively modest. There is also no unified software system for building a database on rural industrial development and product tracking. Furthermore, budget decentralization between provincial and district levels complicates implementation. Many districts still struggle to allocate the necessary funds to disburse support for the industrial promotion projects assigned by the province.

These limitations have affected the overall effectiveness and progress of the province’s five-year industrial promotion plan. In the immediate term, Lao Cai is taking a proactive and flexible approach to ensure that funding-approved projects for 2025 are implemented and completed as planned.

In the long run, the provincial Department of Industry and Trade will continue to advise the People's Committee on policy formulation to foster the industrial sector’s growth. The department will also coordinate with other provincial trade departments in the region to focus on developing key projects, value chain-based programs, and industrial cluster linkages. A close integration between industrial promotion efforts and trade promotion activities—including domestic and international trade fairs—will be emphasized, serving as a bridge to connect businesses and help build strong product branding.