Vietnam will reduce its rice export volume year by year from now to 2020 in order to ensure the national food security, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development was cited on May 15.
The total rice export volume for 2007 was 4.5 million tons (8.3 million tons of paddy), which will decrease to 4.4 million tons (7.38 million tons of paddy) in 2010, 4.3 million tons (7.15 million tons of paddy) in 2015, and 3.8 million tons (6.43 million tons of paddy) in 2020.
The volume will also be based on local rice demand, the ministry said, adding that locally produced paddy output will increase to 37.58 million tons in 2010 and 39.63 million tons in 2020, from 35.9 million tons in 2007 to catch up with population growth rate.
Vietnam’s paddy consumption is forecast to rise 1 per cent annually in the coming year, with population hitting 98.6 million people in 2020, and high demand from animal breeding industry and food processing industry.
The country’s paddy reserve for local consumption will account for 80.3 per cent of total production output in 2010, and 83.8 per cent in 2020, up from 76.9 per cent in 2007, the ministry said.
The ministry is mapping out national food security plan, in which total land for paddy cultivation will be kept at between 3.8 million and four million hectares.
According to figures provided by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Vietnam’s agriculture sector lost 500,000 hectares of land during 2001-2007 period due to industrialization and urbanization.
The shift affected life of 627,500 households, with 2.5 million people and 950,000 laborers. (Labor, VOV)
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