Day: July 8, 2023

Although Vietnamese rice has been exported to 150 countries and territories, markets for the product are mainly Asian countries and thus need to be diversified, according to experts.

Currently, the Asian region has been the largest market of Vietnamese rice, consuming over 60% of the country’s total exported volume. It is followed by Africa with 22%, America 8%, Europe 5%, and other regions 5%.

In the first six months of this year, Vietnam exported 4.27 million tonnes of rice for 2.3 billion USD, up 22.2% in volume and 34.7% in value over the same period last year. Those are the highest growth rates of the rice sector in the recent 10 years.

This year, rice export volume is forecast to stand at a similar volume as last year when 7.35 million tonnes of rice was shipped abroad.

In a recent report, the US Department of Agriculture also predicted that Vietnam’s rice export will exceed 7 million tonnes this year, mostly due to rising demands in Asian markets.

In this scenario, Vietnam will rank third in the world in rice exports after India and Thailand.

Deputy Director of the Department of Asian-African Markets under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) To Ngoc Son said that high demands from traditional markets such as the Philippines, China, Indonesia and African countries are creating opportunities for Vietnam to increase exports.

Particularly, Indonesia and Africa have announced plans to import a large amount of rice this year to ensure national food reserves.

Indonesia said it needs 2.4 million tonnes, while Africa plans to import about 17.7 million tonnes.

The MoIT underlined that from now to the end of this year, Vietnam should continue to seek new rice markets, while optimising traditional markets of China and the Philippines.

Vu Ba Phu, Director of the Trade Promotion Agency said that the agency will continue to connect domestic firms and their foreign importers through various forms, while making full use of free trade agreements, and foster connections between domestic exporters and Vietnam Trade Offices abroad.

He said that the MoIT is building a project to build and promote the trademark of Vietnamese rice. He advised local firms to strengthen their linkage and cooperation with farmers to form a closed production chain.

In order to support businesses in expanding markets, the MoIT has coordinated with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to strengthen trade promotion in new markets such as Africa, the Middle-East, Western and Southern Asian countries, and Turkey.

Although the rice demands in these markets are not higher than traditional ones, they are promising markets for high-quality rice types, which can help Vietnam increase rice export value, according to the MoIT./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on July 7 signed into law a reform measure that writes off about 1.04 billion USD of debts owed by more than 600,000 farmers to help them boost production.

The New Agrarian Emancipation Act freed the farmers tilling more than 1.7 million hectares of land from land-related arrears that they owed since 1988 but cannot pay.

Speaking at the ceremony, President Marcos said that this is a measure that the government rolls out to help farmers deal with this huge debt. He emphasised that this also shows the efforts and responsibility of the Philippine Government to the people.

He said the debt forgiveness would benefit 610,000 people. In addition, the government will spend an additional 206 million pesos (3.6 million USD) to compensate landowners who have transferred their properties to others.

In 1988, about 4.8 million hectares of land, or 16% of the country’s area – was allocated to 3 million farmers who did not own land. Amid the decline in the agricultural sector’s contribution to the country’s GDP, the Philippine Congress decided to adopt a new law as debts on 1.2 million hectares of allocated land have yet to be paid.

Since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr took office m last year, the island country has faced a shortage of agricultural products that have caused prices soaring, including onions and sugar. Meanwhile, the Philippines’ rice imports also increased sharply. President Marcos has underscored the priority of recovering the agricultural sector and making it a growth motivation for the Philippine economy./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) and the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources of Indonesia will hold the ASEAN Energy Business Forum 2023 (AEBF) themed “Accelerating Energy Connectivity to Achieve ASEAN’s Sustainable Growth” on August 24-26 in Bali, Indonesia.

In a statement, ACE said AEBF aims to gather stakeholders from ASEAN to discuss and work together in accelerating energy connections for the regional energy sector’s development.

Jisman P. Hutajulu, Director General of Electricity at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources and Senior Official on Energy (SOE) Leader of Indonesia said the forum will offer a venue for stakeholders to jointly discuss important topics, such as electric vehicles, sustainable fuel, and energy security.

Dr. Nuki Agya Utama, Executive Director of ACE emphasized ACE’s full commitment to support Indonesia as Chair of ASEAN this year, especially in the energy field.

By facilitating productive dialogue, exchange of insight, and cooperation development, AEBF supports Indonesia’s efforts to display ASEAN’s potential energy and encourage regional energy cooperation, Nuki said.

The organisation of the AEBF also coincides with the 41st ASEAN Ministers on Energy Meeting (AMEM) and the 3rd ASEAN International Conference on Energy and Environment (AICEE), to strengthen its impact and significance.

AEBF also held the Awarding Ceremony of ASEAN Energy Awards which acknowledged and appreciated industry players for their contribution to the development of the energy sector. This award ceremony will be attended by 10 ASEAN ministers of energy. /.

Source: Vietnam News Agency