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Vietnam set for four million tonne rice store
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has launched a project to build a four million tone rice storehouse system in the Mekong Delta.
Every year, Vietnam produces 38 million tonnes of rice, including 4-5 million tonnes for export. However, current rice storehouse systems can hold two million tonnes only, and represent only a temporary place for storing rice rather than long term preservation.
Because Vietnam has poor preservation technology, it suffers a high post-harvesting loss proportion of 11-12 percent. It is estimated that Vietnam loses several thousand billion dong a year because of losses during preservation and processing.
For that reasons, experts say, Vietnam urgently needs to build a standard rice storehouse system.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Ho Xuan Hung says the State encourages all economic sectors to make investment in the project.
“Investors will be able to borrow loans at preferential interest rates of 6.5 percent per annum. Besides, they will be able to get loans at zero percent to import modern equipments used in farm produce preservation and processing which cannot be made domestically,” Hung said.
Doan Manh Hoa, a senior official of MARD, added that rice storehouse investors will enjoy the land use fee exemption within five years after the project begins operation. The state will prop up 20 percent of the total expenses needed for site clearance and 30 percent of expenses needed to upgrade the infrastructure outside the fence of the rice stores.
Investors will be also able to enjoy corporate income tax exemption for three years after the project becomes operational and the 50 percent tax reduction in the next two years.
Cao Van Hoa, deputy director of the Tien Giang Department for Agriculture and Rural Development, suggests that the storehouse system needs to be equipped with a modern drying system which dries rice continuously. In addition, both temperature and humidity control are vital.
If so, the rice can be preserved not only for several months, but for several years which allow Vietnamese exporters to export rice at any time they want, to get the best prices.
vietnamnet, tt
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