Investor mulls Lao blueberry potential

A Lao -Canadian investor who owns five companies in Canada believes there is potential in Laos to grow blueberries for export, after positive results from a 3-hectare trial plantation in Vientiane .

Mr Sam Chanpradith told Vientiane Times last week that he planned to establish between 400 and 500 hectares of blueberry trees within the next 10 years, which will create jobs for more than 5,000 villagers.

“There will be no problem with marketing, as demand for the fruit is increasing throughout the world,” he said, adding that the fruit is currently selling for around US$32 per kg in some Asian markets.

“Not many countries in Asia are growing blueberries, except for the Republic of Korea and China . Right now, the US exports a lot of the fruit to Japan , as it is known to be good for people's health,” he said.

Mr Sam currently owns Lao Can Holdings, which has three branches in Canada , as well as Deluxe Food Inc and Orca Specialty Foods, which export seafood to Japan and Europe .

He conducted trials of the fruit to see if the trees were compatible with the Lao climate.

“Some people think blueberries must be grown in cold weather countries,” Mr Sam said, but he explained that they are grown in Morocco , and was confident that the fruit would be well suited to the Lao climate.

He has just returned from Champassak province, where he determined that the Bolaven Plateau would be a suitable location, but he has yet to decide whether to buy land there.

The trees require a high level of humidity, with regular fog and sandy soil. A two-year-old blueberry plant can produce 2 kilograms of berries per season, and 5 kilograms after five years.

He said each hectare would require 12 people to grow and care for the trees, and a processing plant and a freezer would be needed for the harvest produced from each 200 hectares.

Mr Sam has returned to Laos almost 40 times since he left to study in Canada in 1978.

“I come back often because I love the country; it's my birthplace. So I want to do something to ensure that more Lao people have jobs. I don't just want to give people money and then leave, because when the money is spent they will be poor again,” he said.

In his opinion, people need good information regarding what they can grow and what the market demands are if they want to earn a better income.

Education is the most important thing, he explained, because with limited knowledge it's difficult to run a successful business.

By Somsack Pongkhao
(Latest Update January 28, 2008)