The owner of Tan Long Group and his journey from a small chemical truck that seemed lost in the crowd.

After 25 years in business, starting as a small chemical business owner, Mr. Truong Sy Ba has built a multi-sector agricultural ecosystem, spanning from rice cultivation to livestock farming.

Người Đưa Tin•30/05/2025

In recent years, Vietnam's livestock industry has undergone a significant restructuring. Instead of relying primarily on small-scale farmers as before, the market is increasingly recognizing the prominent role of large enterprises with large-scale production models and systematic investments.

This process is taking place against a backdrop of ever-increasing consumer demand, stricter food safety and hygiene standards, and volatile input and output prices driven by international markets.

Many businesses have expanded their investments along a closed-loop chain, from supplying animal feed and operating farms to distributing products to the market. Among them is BAF Agricultural Joint Stock Company - a business belonging to the ecosystem of Tan Long Group.

Tan Long's agricultural turning point.

When discussing the business journey of Tan Long Group, it's impossible not to mention businessman Truong Sy Ba, born in 1967 and Chairman of the Board of Directors, who is generally very private. However, in a rare interview with the media, he recounted the circumstances that led him to the agricultural industry.

Mr. Truong Sy Ba - Chairman of the Board of Directors of Tan Long Group.

Accordingly, in the 2000s, Mr. Truong Sy Ba started his business by establishing Tan Long Van Company (the predecessor of Tan Long Group), specializing in the chemical business. In 2007, while driving his truck to deliver goods to a livestock feed factory, he unexpectedly noticed something unusual: his truck was dwarfed by a long line of trucks carrying corn to the factory.

That scene made him reconsider. "I used to think that the chemicals I was trading at the time were a high-demand commodity, but seeing the factory buying agricultural products that day, I realized that agricultural products were the commodity that the market actually needed," Mr. Bá recounted.

Immediately after that experience, Mr. Ba decided to shift his business direction, starting to supply raw materials to the animal feed industry and gradually withdrawing from the chemical sector.

By 2010, Tan Long established a rice processing plant in Dong Thap – touted as the largest in Vietnam at the time. A significant milestone occurred at the end of 2016, when Tan Long became the first Vietnamese private enterprise to win a bid to supply high-quality rice to the South Korean government.

In early 2017, Tan Long continued to export its second batch of Japonica rice to South Korea, this time on a scale ten times larger, approximately 30,000 tons. Mr. Ba shared that this transaction brought in a profit of about 3 million USD.

The Hanh Phuc rice mill of Tan Long Group is located in An Giang .

Tan Long subsequently made a name for itself by winning consecutive bids for 50,000 tons (May 2018) and 60,000 tons (mid-2018), totaling 110,000 tons of Japonica rice within just half a year. This was the result of tenders organized by the South Korean government, where Tan Long beat out numerous international competitors from China, Thailand, and Australia.

According to information on its website, Tan Long Group currently has approximately 4,000 employees and operates in six main areas: food business and retail; rice production and trading; grain industry; high-tech livestock farming; high-tech mechanical engineering; and animal feed ingredients.

The owner of the trillion-dollar "vegetarian pig" ecosystem.

After making his mark in the rice industry, Mr. Bá continued to expand into the livestock sector. In 2017, he established BAF Vietnam Agricultural Joint Stock Company (HoSE: BAF), pursuing the 3F model (Feed – Farm – Food). In just a few years, BAF increased its charter capital from VND 30 billion to VND 1,435 billion and officially listed on the stock exchange in 2021.

Regarding the company's business performance, in 2021, despite a slight decrease in revenue due to restructuring, BAF's after-tax profit still reached VND 321 billion, seven times higher than the previous year. This result stemmed from the company proactively purchasing raw materials when prices were low, ensuring a stable supply of pork, and taking advantage of rising meat prices.

However, during the period of 2022-2023, BAF faced many difficulties, with revenue falling to VND 7,083 billion in 2022 and only VND 5,198 billion in 2023, equivalent to a decrease of nearly half in three years. This was due to rising input costs, weak purchasing power, and increasingly stringent food safety regulations.

Nevertheless, at the end of 2022, BAF still made its mark by launching the "vegetarian pork" brand BAF Meat – a product line from pigs that only eat feed made 100% from plants and plant protein, produced by BAF's own factory. Mr. Ba said that this idea stemmed from childhood memories of the delicious taste of pork, and a desire to recreate that flavor in a modern context.

"Vegetarian-fed pork" and "banana-fed pork" once created a sensation thanks to consumer interest and the reputation of the brands behind them. However, as "banana-fed pork" gradually lost momentum, "vegetarian-fed pork" is making a remarkable comeback.

In 2024, BAF's business performance gradually improved: revenue reached VND 5,553 billion, an increase of 7%. After-tax profit was VND 324 billion, more than 10 times higher than the previous year. As a result, the company exceeded its set targets.

The first quarter of 2025 continued to record positive results with a profit of VND 133 billion, the highest quarterly profit ever recorded by the company. The company's revenue reached VND 1,123 billion, mainly due to the sale of over 160,000 pigs. The company stated that the profit growth stemmed from the sustained high price of pork, while input material prices remained stable, helping to optimize costs.

After acquiring a 50% stake in Khoi Duong Livestock Company Limited, BAF has conducted M&A activities with 15 companies since November 2024.

Notably, alongside its remarkable business growth, BAF has continuously expanded its livestock farming operations through the acquisition of numerous businesses. After acquiring a 50% stake in Khoi Duong Livestock Company Limited, BAF has conducted M&A activities with 15 companies since November 2024.

Simultaneously, the company also established three subsidiaries in Tay Ninh with a total charter capital of 760 billion VND, primarily operating in the livestock sector.

VNDirect Securities believes that BAF has been well-prepared since 2024, continuously investing in and putting into operation new farms including the Hai Dang farm complex (5,000 sows, 60,000 fattening pigs), Tan Chau farm (30,000 fattening pigs), Tam Hung farm (5,000 sows), and the Hai Ha farm complex (5,000 sows, 60,000 fattening pigs). VNDirect estimates that BAF's total herd increased by 93.1% compared to 2023.

VNDirect expects BAF to continue increasing its market share in 2025 due to a decrease in the number of farming households, while the total herd size of some large enterprises may also be affected because the previous supply partly came from partnerships with small-scale farmers.

Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/ong-chu-tan-long-group-va-hanh-trinh-tu-chiec-xe-hoa-chat-lot-thom-204250526211115846.htm