Tuesday, September 05, 2006

Reasons Vietnam lift duties on Cambodian rice: Communist Vietnam is counting on Cambodia to supplement its rice shortage

High demand, low yield shake rice farms
05/09/2006

Will export targets be adjusted for the Mekong (Cuu Long) River Delta region because of smaller yields?

This year, disease from brown hoppers damaged the rice yield in Cuu Long Delta provinces. But I think Viet Nam can maintain the target of exporting 5 million tonnes of rice and ensure food security.

My forecast is this:

First, farmers in the region have to increase their annual planting instead of trying for three different crops.

Second, farmers in bordering provinces with Cambodia have reached a relatively high yield.

Besides, the agreement between Viet Nam and Cambodia signed recently regulates that Cambodia exports 100,000 tonnes of rice to Viet Nam without any export tariff.

This source of rice can, therefore, supplement the southern region’s shortage.

Why do many Vietnamese enterprises sell high-quality rice at cheap prices?

The Ministry of Trade and Viet Nam Association of Food warned them many times, but it hasn’t stopped.

Normally, when the winter-autumn harvest starts and businesses push up their export activities, it is also time for rice importers to try to force the price down.

Despite recommendations of a price hike, export businesses that were in need of capital signed contracts to sell for less.

The situation needs to be controlled in 2007 to stop businesses from hurting farmers this way.

Export contracts should be registered so only proper ones can be approved.

For businesses, they should carefully consider their capacity as well as rice reserves.

Do you have any predictions for the rice market?

Since demand is high and supply is modest, I see prices going up.

In some countries such as China and Indonesia, rice production has reduced dramatically due to natural calamities.

Recently, Indonesia opened a bid to import 450,000 tonnes of rice in the next two months.

Viet Nam’s businesses are going to get these contracts because there are few other countries that have the reserves we do at cheap prices.

Additionally, other markets of the Philippines, Africa, Cuba and the Middle East have big import demands.

As scheduled, Viet Nam will export 500,000 tonnes of rice by the end of this year. This, coupled with businesses starting to sign fair contracts, should have the industry back on track.

Source: Vietnam News

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Vietnam is trying to buy out Cambodian rice so that Cambodia will face starvation. This kind of economic strategy can foul only with blind leaderships

Anonymous said...

Not just Vietname that is doing it and Thailand is doing the same!

AH HUN SEN was paid to stay quiet and do nothing while the Viet and the Thai looked at Cambodian people as animals for their sweat and blood in producing all these grains to be shipped back to Thailand and Vietname for processing!(The Thai and the Viet buying agents can travel across Cambodia at will to do their bidding and Cambodian farmers continue to be a slave for the Thai and the Viet!)

For competition to be fair, Cambodia must have control economy combine with free market!