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1,600 cooperatives close as crisis bites deep
More than 1,600 cooperatives across the country have shut down since last year due to the global economic crisis, an official from the Vietnam Cooperative Alliance (VCA) said Tuesday.
The loss of export orders, including signed contracts that were cancelled, have hurt many, VCA Vice Chairman Nguyen Xuan Hien said.
Meanwhile, many cooperatives are finding it very difficult to access the subsidized credit offered by the government as they do not have property to offer as collateral. Commercial banks are also not interested in providing loans for cooperatives.
In Ho Chi Minh City, for example, only four of 468 cooperatives have been able to benefit from the loans.
The VCA plans to hold the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises-Cooperatives Fair 2009 from December 2-7 in Hanoi in a bid to help members connect with more buyers and land export orders.
Vietnam currently has nearly 18,300 cooperatives that are employing 14.5 million workers.
Tran Tam
thanhnien
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