December 12, 2011

Bel Vietnam launches Vietnamese cheese plant

Bel Vietnam, a unit of French group Fromageries Bel, began operating its cheese plant worth EUR5 million (US$6.63 million) in Vietnam's southern province of Binh Duong on December 8.

The plant, the first in the Asia-Pacific region, is located on 5,000-square-metre area in My Phuoc 3 Industrial Zone. It is expected to produce 4,000 tonnes of cheese annually and may be hiked to 8,000 tonnes.

The plant is equipped with modern UHT production chain, meeting high European standards on food safety and product quality.

Cheese produced in Bel plant in Binh Duong will be for local consumption as well as for export to the Southeast Asian countries, said Antoine Fievet, general director of Fromageries Bel.

Fromageries Bel, the third largest French cheese producer after Besnier and Bongrain, strives to develop its business in Vietnam after its success in Japan.

It has 26 plants and 30 representative office worldwide, supplying 20 cheese brands to 120 countries. In 2010, the group posted revenues of EUR20 billion (US$26.52 billion).