The digital map of raw material zones is expected to solve the equation of investment overlapping, manufacture transparency, and driving deep processing in the coconut industry.

The Vietnamese coconut industry is shifting from the mindset of expanding areas to managing raw material zone data. This is viewed as the core heading aiming to transparentize production processes, serve traceability, attract deep processing investments, and elevate competitive edge in the international market.

From growing zones achieving organic standards…

According to the Vietnam Coconut Association, the Mekong Delta is currently the primary raw material zone of the coconut industry, supplying input for hundreds of processing enterprises serving domestic and export markets. From traditional products such as coconut meat, coconut oil, and coconut water, the coconut industry has expanded into high value-added segments such as food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and green materials. It is projected that in 2026, the export turnover of coconut products can exceed 1.1 billion USD.

However, to maintain the growth momentum and satisfy increasingly strict import standards, forming concentrated raw material zones that achieve international organic standards and possess digitized management systems becomes an urgent requirement.

The Vietnam Coconut Association is deploying a plan to construct a digital map of controlled organic coconut raw material zones across the country, initially concentrating on the Mekong Delta. The system will statistics raw material coconut areas, drinking coconut areas, and update the investment status of enterprises according to each locality.

Mr. Cao Ba Dang Khoa, Vice President of the Vietnam Coconut Association, stated that the coconut industry is entering a new development phase, taking deep processing and manufacture transparency as foundations. Currently, the entire country possesses around 55,000 hectares of coconuts achieving organic certification and nearly 10,000 hectares under evaluation; Vinh Long alone already has more than 50% of its area recognized to achieve standards.

According to Mr. Khoa, the digital map will generate a unified database for localities, enterprises, and cooperatives to manage raw material zones, restricting investment overlapping and upgrading chain linkage capacities. Households participating in organic raw material zones also possess opportunities to be purchased at prices higher than the market.

To the equation of turning raw material zones into data assets

The Vietnam Coconut Association argued that developing raw material zones over the past time still contained multiple limitations. Due to the lack of a synchronous data system, enterprises have to self-seek localities and approach each individual farming household, leading to investment competition within the exact same area and reducing linkage efficiency.

Besides, a portion of farmers has not participated right from the beginning because they have not yet fully perceived the benefits of organic production; while foreign enterprises also encounter difficulties when approaching raw material zone information to construct deep processing projects.

Therefore, the digital map of raw material zones is expected to become a tool supporting planning, attracting investment, and developing the coconut industry in a modern direction.

Under the plan, the 2026-2028 phase will perfect the database in Vinh Long, Dong Thap, Can Tho, Ca Mau, and An Giang with a scale of around 160,000 hectares; thereafter expanding to the Southeast region and integrating nationwide.

Due to specific cultivation characteristics remaining scattered, digitizing the entirety of the area right from the beginning is evaluated to be low in feasibility. The selected solution is prioritizing the input of data from organic raw material zones that already possess enterprise linkages, thereafter expanding step by step.

Regarding technology, the system does not merely determine growing zone boundaries but also updates investing enterprises, certification standards, validity periods, and production status. Satellite imagery and drones will be applied to update data in real time; while concurrently developing chain-linked cooperative models to serve as raw material supply focal points.

The representative of the Vietnam Coconut Association argued that instead of setting a too massive target right from the beginning such as constructing a “comprehensive coconut map”, the initial phase should approach in the direction of forming controlled raw material zones. Accordingly, data will be constructed step by step, prioritizing essential criteria such as investment zones, organic certifications, linked enterprises, production status, and traceability capacities; thereafter continuing to expand under governance demands.

Shaping a transparent ecosystem heading toward the billion-dollar target

This step marks a major turning point, converting the coconut industry management method from managing by administrative areas to governing actual production data. In the long term, the digitized system does not merely stop at the growing zone area scale but will head toward identifying and managing down to each individual coconut tree, permitting the accurate update of varieties, tree age, and forecasting harvest productivity.

The digital map is orientated to become an efficient macro-investment coordination tool for regulatory agencies. When an enterprise registers to construct a new raw material zone, the entirety of information regarding the locality, projected scale, and the list of linked farming households will be updated immediately onto the system to output automatic warnings if there are overlapping risks, helping local governments monitor and coordinate smoothly.

Mr. Lam Van Tan, Director of the Vinh Long Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, shared that the province's strategic target is bringing the coconut industry's export turnover to 1 billion USD by 2030. However, with the current growth speed and digital transformation readiness levels, this target can completely be finished earlier, right within the 2027-2028 phase.

Currently, the entire province of Vinh Long possesses around 120,000 hectares of coconuts, within which around 30,000 hectares have achieved organic standards. The target by 2026 is elevating the organic coconut area to 43,000 hectares (occupying 36% of the total area). The province has also proactively prepared export launchpads with 222 fresh coconut growing zone codes and 29 packing facilities granted codes to export to the Chinese market.

Mr. Tran Van Ut Tam, Deputy Director of the Vinh Long Department of Science and Technology, stated that the province constructed a shared digital map platform and deployed agricultural data digitization programs. Specifically this year, digital transformation projects serving this field have been allocated more than 20 billion VND.

The controlled organic coconut raw material zone map project does not constitute merely a technical scheme, but is becoming an information foundation tightly connecting the “4-house” axis: Government - Enterprise - Cooperative - Farmer.

When each growing zone is identified and monitored continuously, knotty equations regarding traceability, regulating output volume under market demands, and attracting deep processing FDI capital inflows will possess clear answers.

With available advantages, Vinh Long is expected to excellently finish the role of a pilot locality before this model is multiplied nationwide, contributing to elevating the competitive edge of the Vietnamese coconut industry in the international market.

“Constructing a digital map of coconut raw material zones is very necessary. In the future, digitization does not merely stop at areas but also heads toward managing each individual coconut tree, helping track varieties, tree age, and productivity more accurately,” said Mr. Tran Van Ut Tam, Deputy Director of the Vinh Long Department of Science and Technology.

Source: Bao Nong nghiep va Moi truong