Borikhamxay to grow more sweetcorn to supply EU
Borikhamxay to grow more sweetcorn to supply EU
Agriculture officials in Borikhamxay province are calling for more sweetcorn to be grown to boost supply for the country's only canned vegetable producer, who hopes to export more canned sweetcorn to Europe.
The project is a joint venture between the provincial agricultural sector and the Lao Agro Industry Company (LAICO).
Head of the provincial Agriculture and Cooperative Extension Sector, Mr Xaikham Kounnavong, said yesterday that farmers are testing the cultivation of sweetcorn in the districts of Thaphabath and Borikhan on almost eight hectares.
More than 180 families in Pakxan and Pakkading districts have planted out over 120 hectares that yielded more than 1,360 tonnes of sweetcorn this year.
“We will try to allocate more land for sweetcorn cultivation because the canned vegetable factory needs at least 207 hectares of the crop to be grown in Borikamxay province,” Mr Xaikham said.
He said Thaphabath and Borikhan are suitable areas for corn production because they are fairly near to the LAICO processing plant, which is about 70km away. LAICO, Laos' only fruit and vegetable canning company, is located on a five-hectare site in Thoulakkhom district, Vientiane province.
A company official said there are currently over 1,700 families growing sweetcorn in Vientiane (mainly Hadxaifong district), Vientiane province (mainly Kasi, Thoulakhom and Viengkham districts) and Borikhamxay province (mainly Pakxan and Pakkading districts).
The company encourages the cultivation of sweetcorn in these areas because they are relatively close to the factory so the cobs stay fresh during transport.
The crop is easy to grow, does not require the use of chemicals, takes about 75 to 80 days to reach maturity, and can be grown throughout the year.
LAICO uses at least 4,500 tonnes of sweetcorn a year, grown on about 300 hectares, to make canned sweetcorn and sweetcorn milk. Supply depends on farmers' production capacity.
“We need at least 5,000 tonnes annually and are aiming for a cultivation area of about 400 hectares,” Mr Xaikham said.
There is a high demand for sweetcorn with orders increasing globally each year, especially from the European market.
Most of the canned sweetcorn is exported to Europe, about 4,000 to 5,000 tonnes a year.
LAICO also produces sweetcorn milk for sale in Vientiane and the provinces. It now turns out 8,000 to 12,000 300ml bottles each day. Sometimes, production rises to about 500,000 bottles a month. The company started out making 1,000 bottles of the drink each day back in July 2009.
LAICO was established in 1994. It produces pickled garlic, canned sweetcorn and sugar palm seeds in syrup for both export and local supply. About 5 percent is sold on the domestic market while the remaining 95 percent is exported. It produces about 2,000 tonnes of canned palm seeds annually, exporting almost 80 percent to Thailand and almost 20 percent to Cambodia, Malaysia and Vietnam. The pickled garlic is mostly sold in Laos.
LAICO has three international accreditations that certify production and product quality, namely Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) and British Retail Consortium (BRC).
