Vietnam Govt Approves Raising Sugar Import Quota to 200,000 Tons This Yr

The Vietnamese government has approved a proposal by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Industry and Trade to raise sugar import quota to 200,000 tons from 129,000 tons this year.

 

The move is expected to help ease a sugar shortage of 300,000 tons in the domestic market by the end of the year, the ministries said at the closing conference for the 2009-2010 sugar cane industry in Hanoi on May 11.

 

The Vietnam Sugar and Cane Association forecast that Vietnam’s total sugar output in the crop at 984,000 tons, down 5,000 tons from the previous crop.

 

The department of cultivation under the MARD blamed the decrease in output for the sharp falls in cane areas, and cane quality. Vietnam’s cane area dropped by 5,300 hectares to only 242,413 hectares in the last crop and cane productivity dropped to 51.7 tons per hectare from 60 tons per hectare against previous years.

 

Phan Huy Thong, deputy head of the department said it is necessary to increase cane productivity and quality, and reduce loss in sugar processing.

 

He said sugar refineries should boost cooperation with farmers in setting up cane growing areas to ensure a stable material supply.

 

The department said to meet the domestic demand Vietnam will have to expand its cane acreage to 300,000 hectares with average productivity of 65 tons/hectare, producing around 17.2 million tons of cane, or 1.75 million tons of sugar by 2015.

 

Sugar is offered at VND14,000/kg at factory and selling for VND17,000-VND18,000/kg in the domestic market. (Vietnam Agriculture)