Taking advantage of natural things to start a business
On the last afternoon of the year, Mr. Dang Thanh Tung - Director of Tung Hang Cooperative (Kien Hai Commune, Hai Phong) joined the workshop, along with the staff to prepare honey for customers. After pouring honey into the bottle, Mr. Tung introduced the cooperative's two main products, saltwater wild flower honey and Bang La apple honey.
According to Mr. Tung, mangrove flowers such as won flowers, seeds, banyan flowers... bloom almost all year round, and are only available for about 2 months. Meanwhile, the honey harvest from Bang La apple blossoms is only about 3 months (August to October), so the output of mangrove wild honey every year is higher than apple blossom honey. Bang La apple honey is more fragrant but when considering the salty wild honey, it is sweeter.
Mr. Tung recounted that since his youth in the army, Mr. Tung had known about beekeeping. After his discharge to the local army, Mr. Tung actively increased production and was an active member of the Farmers' Association of the old Dai Hop commune. In 1997, the Japan-funded mangrove planting project covered more than 650 hectares of vacant land outside the dike in Dai Hop commune and the old Bang La ward. In 2000, seeing the vast green forest with flowers blooming all year round, Mr. Tung began to see the potential from the mangrove forest flower beekeeping and started a business.
Many households in the commune at that time also studied this economic development model. The type of bee chosen by households is mainly domestic bees, small in size, not having to move around flower areas, and few diseases. From the initial effectiveness, to expand production scale, the cooperative for beekeeping in the commune was established in 2020 to gather people with common needs and goals for economic development from beekeeping.
In May 2020, Tung Hang Honey Cooperative was officially established. With outstanding quality thanks to the natural source of mangrove flowers, in 2020, the cooperative's honey products were certified to achieve a 3-star OCOP and a 4-star OCOP in 2023. Compared to other natural honey products, honey from mangrove forests always ensures no pesticide residues in the bee's feed, higher content of minerals, so honey is of higher quality and richer in nutrients...
Supply of 6 supermarket chains
According to Mr. Dang Thanh Tung, currently, Tung Hang Honey Cooperative has more than 1,500 beehives, of which Mr. Tung's family has more than 400. The total amount of honey in 2023 will reach more than 14,000 liters, supplying to many markets such as the Northern and Central provinces, gradually affirming its position in the market thanks to product quality. In 2024, due to the impact of storm No. 3 Yagi, mangrove forests were destroyed, and the amount of honey from mangrove flowers was reduced by half. This year, honey output is stable, increasing by more than 8% compared to 2023.
The cooperative's honey is currently supplied to 6 supermarket chains, shopping malls, and the City Post Office at a price of 300,000 VND/liter, earning a profit of 700 million VND/year. Mr. Tung said that in the past, the Cooperative increased consumption on e-commerce channels, receiving great support from consumers. However, due to greater demand than supply, Mr. Tung prioritizes supply for supermarket chains and shopping malls.
It is expected that in the coming time, the unit will continue to expand its scale, increase the number of beehives, and complete the production process to meet consumer demand, improve economic efficiency, and develop typical local products.
