Viet Nam is the world's eighth largest producer of coconuts and currently has some 130,000 hectares of coconuts spread over more than 13 provinces in the southern and central regions. There are an estimated 4 million living below the $2/day in coconut selling households in these 13 provinces.

Prosperity Initiative has recently begun the work to identify and analyse potential pro-poor oportunities in the coconuts sector through a partnership with Ben Tre Province in southern Viet Nam. 

The largest coconut-growing province, Ben Tre, has some 220,000 people living below the poverty line, and government authorities estimate that up to 30% of the population is involved in some way in the coconut industry. This figure includes workers in some 250 processing facilities producing desiccated coconut, copra, fibre, charcoal and other products.

After reviewing international markets and local supply chains, the preliminary conclusion is that there are opportunities for interventions to achieve significant improvements in the industry although these initial conclusions will need to be proven further.

Preliminary industry analysis shows that the coconut industry in Viet Nam is not configured to realise maximum value from the whole coconut, with few fully integrated operations or companies producing more profitable processed coconut products. The component to be sold fresh is the nut - which can be described as the de-husked coconut - while the components for further processing are the kernel, the shell and the husk. On the basis of Prosperity Initiative's initial analysis, the highest value for a whole coconut fruit is achieved through a combination of processes leading to an optimal product mix made from the coconut raw material; however, this ideal industry model does not yet exist in the local industry.

Progress

PI is developing a pipeline of businesses to assist, and has succeeded in working with one firm to develop a business plant to successfully win an M4P grant in 2010. Ecosource is a company with a business to reprocessing coconut pith into soil conditioner, effectively keeping this resource out of the river and causing pollution problems, and turning into value for the industry. in 2010, PI continues to support its government partner, the Investment and Trade Promotion Centre in Ben Tre.

PI is building relationships with government, business and donor project partners in the coconut sector, learning from its experiences in the bamboo sector.