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 2.4 million people living below the poverty line 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. After reviewing international markets and local supply chains, the preliminary conclusion is that there should be opportunities for interventions to achieve significant improvements in the industry although these initial conclusions will need to be proven further. In 2009, in-depth analyses and benchmarking comparisons will be undertaken with Ben Tre Province leading to the implementation of proving activities to validate market opportunities and industry intervention to achieve poverty impact and other provincial development objectives.

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. The industry also has potential applications for poverty reduction in Cambodia and Lao PDR.

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.