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MoIT turns deaf ear to pleas to import more sugar
A paradox exists: Government agencies say that there’s still enough domestic sugar to satisfy demand but dairy and drink producers clamor for permission to import sugar. There’s been a surge in illegal imports through Cambodia.
On September 22, the Ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development and Industry and Trade heard from the enterprises that want to import sugar.
Vinamilk, the dairy producer, asked for the permission to import 8,000 tonnes of sugar, Coca Cola and Kinh Do bakers also asked for import permits. The companies said the price price of sugar on the domestic market has gone too high. If they cannot import sugar, they say, they must raise the prices of their products.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) reminded the firms that it will take them two months at least to get imports in hand. Meanwhile the new sugar cane crop will be harvested and all of Vietnam’s 40 sugar factories will be operational, pushing down sugar prices.
The Vietnam Sugar and Sugar Cane Association (representing sugar refiners) holds that the sugar price in Vietnam is not significantly higher than the world price, now $579 per tonne, or 12,000 dong per kilo, which does not include tariff and transport fee. Sugar is wholesaling in Vietnam at 13,600-14,000 dong per kilo.
Thai sugar smuggled across Vietnam’s border with Cambodia is widely available in the south for 15 percent less. Analysts say that the sugar prices will fall in early October, after the mid-Autumn Festival, because of the decreasing demand
The refiners’ association holds that domestic supply is big enough to meet demand and additional imports are a bad idea. In mid-september, domestic sugar plants still have 58,700 tonnes of white sugar and 35,000 tonnes of refined sugar in stock. Besides, sales agents also have 10,000 tonnes of sugar, which means that some 100,000 tonnes are available to the market..
Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Le Danh Vinh said that sugar import quotas for 2009 have been allocated to enterprises already.
VietNamNet, TBKTVN
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