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Rice producers urged to add value
Rice production in Viet Nam should be revamped to gain higher value for producers from exports and domestic sales, a group of experts have said.
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| Rice bags are loaded onto a ship in HCM City. The country has exported 7.2 million tonnes of rice, gaining US$3.7 billion this year, a 22-year high in the volume of export |
"Viet Nam has enjoyed years of good production and exports of rice but practices need to improve in the future to increase the value of production," said Bui Ba Bong, deputy minister of agriculture and rural development.
Bong said different models of rice production had developed at rice fields in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta region and the domestic farming sector should undergo a comprehensive overhaul to win in competition with foreign companies entering Viet Nam's rice trade in the future.
The establishment of trade mark for rice grown in the region under the national trade mark programme would help Vietnamese rice in the world market, he said.
Rice expert Vo Tong Xuan said current capacity of production needed to improve to increase profits for all stages of production.
Modernisation of rice production in the region in the future would bring stability and higher incomes for farmers, Xuan said.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development reported only 25 per cent of farms in Viet Nam had approached authorities for market information, while 60 per cent of farm products had been sold below market prices and 40-50 per cent of production costs for export rice were for importing production materials.
Rice production had suffered from high costs in import materials, such as fertiliser but levels of consumption should offer farmers a stable price.
Therefore, meeting target profits for farmers was important in ensuring economic security, the ministry reported.
The Cultivation Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural development said the floods of 2011 in the region had gained increased output of rice, bringing the output in Viet Nam to 42.3 million tonnes this year, 2.3 million tonnes higher than last year.
In 2011, Viet Nam exported 7.2 million tonnes of rice, gaining US$3.7 billion, a 22-year high in the volume of export.
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