Vietnam plans to increase sugar import quota

The Ministry of Industry and Trade plans to allow local companies to import another 10,000 tons of sugar this year to ease the sugar shortage in Vietnam.

Although the Vietnam Sugar Association has always claimed it has sufficient sugar supplies, many firms can’t buy enough sugar for production and prices are really high, the Tien Phong newspaper reported Tuesday, citing Hoang Tho Xuan, director of the Domestic Market Policies Department at the ministry.

“The association said it is keeping 100,000 tons of sugar in stock, then where is the sugar?” he asked.

Xuan said the Ministry of Industry and Trade was seeking advice from the agriculture ministry before making the final decision about the additional imports.

Vietnam initially planned to import 61,000 tons of sugar this year, according to the trade ministry. It imported 58,000 tons of sugar last year, according to the government figures.

The country obtained just 995,000 tons of sugar from the 2008-09 crop, which has just ended, down 20 percent from the previous one.

thanhnien

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