Construction of the Dong Nai Food Industry Corporation (Dofico) industrial-agricultural complex began in Xuan Loc district in Dong Nai province on 19 September, opening up new prospects for domestic agricultural production, reports Vietnam Business.

This is the country's first modern complex to be built oriented toward the commodity economy and with a self-contained manufacturing cycle meeting international standards.

The complex will serve as one of the venues through which farm produce from Dong Nai and its adjacent provinces can penetrate the world market, thus helping to promote the trademarks of hi-tech agricultural products.

The Dofico complex comprises five areas, for husbandry, cultivation, food processing, hi-tech agriculture and trade. It has a total investment of 1.96 trillion dong (VND) and is expected to be operational in five years.

On this occasion, the DOFICO company awarded VND3.55 billion to local schools in Xuan Loc and Thong Nhat districts.

Dofico is developing the 'agropark' with Benefiq from France for the production and processing of livestock. According to AsianAgriBiz, the project covers more than 2,000 hectares. The construction will be done in two phases with the first one, worth VND1.4 trillion (US$70 million), due for completion in 2013. Once fully operational, the facility will supply up to one million pigs annually for processing into a variety of pork products for domestic and export markets.