Vietnam-Cambodia Enterprises Club boosts bilateral trade

The Standing Committee of the Vietnam-Cambodia Friendship Association convened a conference in Hanoi on October 22 to discuss the activities of the Executive Committee of the Vietnam-Cambodia Club of Enterprises.

The club has grown considerably over the past three years, from 60 members to nearly 200 at present, Secretary General of the Vietnam-Cambodia Friendship Association Ly Quang Bich told the conference.

The club has become a valuable source of information for Vietnamese businesses interested in Cambodian trade and investment policies, Mr Bich added.

The Club's managing board has coordinated with the leadership of the Vietnam-Cambodia Friendship Association to send Vietnamese business delegations to Cambodia to explore the current market situation in the country.

As a result of these trips and advice from the club, many Vietnamese businesses have established partnerships and are operating successful import - export trade and tourism joint venture

In the future, the club will continue consolidating its structure, establish new offices, organize more meetings for its members, and consider founding its own consultancy centre.

At the conference in Hanoi, Cambodian Ambassador Hun Phani praised the Club's activities and affirmed that the Cambodian embassy in Vietnam will always support exchanges between the two countries in all fields, especially in economics and trade.

Mong Duong 1 Thermal Power Plant under construction

The Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) started construction of the VND33 trillion Mong Duong 1 Thermal Power Plant in the northern province of Quang Ninh on October 22.

The coal-fired plant, part of the national electricity development plan for the 2006-2015 period, has a design capacity of 1,000 MW. Once put into operation in 2015, it is expected to produce as much as 6.5 billion kWh annually to meet the socio-economic development demands of the northern region.
 
The plant will utilize state-of-the-art technologies that comply with Vietnamese and international requirements for environment protection.

Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai urged the investor and contractors to ensure the progress of the projects. He also asked local authorities to assist families that have to relocate and resettle into new residential areas.

The Mong Duong 1 thermal power plant is invested by EVN and its contractor is the Hyundai Engineering and Construction Co. Ltd, a leading construction company from the Republic of Korea.

Firms sued for failing to pay staff insurance

Many businesses in central Khanh Hoa Province were found to owe social insurance premiums totalling nearly VND42 billion (US$2 million) during the first nine months of this year, according to the provincial Social Insurance Agency.

Up to 13 businesses had not paid social insurance premiums for more than one year, said the agency's director Nguyen Van Phong. However, the current regulations were not strict enough to deter these businesses.

"The maximum fine for employers who do not pay social insurance premiums for their labourers is VND20 million ($960), much lower than the social insurance premium debt," deputy director of the provincial Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Mai Xuan Tri told Nong thon Ngay nay (Countryside's Today) newspaper.

Sakura Food Ltd Co, for example, was fined three times for oweing social insurance premiums in 14 months but the debt the company currently incurred was nearly VND2 billion ($96,000), he said.

Phong said the agency planned to take action against some businesses if they failed to pay social insurance premiums by the end of this month.

Vice Chairman of the provincial People's Committee Le Xuan Than told the newspaper that it was essential to sue business violators as social insurance debts directly affected workers' interests.

"The most important purpose is to force businesses to abide by regulations to ensure interest of labourers," he said.

The provincial Department of Labours, Invalids and Social Affairs should force businesses to take measures to recover consequences caused by their debts, Than said.

Last year, the department found 20 businesses violated regulations on social insurance.

Vina-Mazda automobile factory opens

The Vina-Mazda Company officially opened its factory for manufacturing and assembling Mazda cars on October 21 at the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone in Quang Ngai province.

It also launched its newly assembled Mazda 2CKD automobiles, which have won more than 50 international awards.

The Vina-Mazda factory, which has been under construction for more than a year, has a total investment of more than US$20 million and the capacity to produce 10,000 cars per year, providing 300 jobs for local people.

The factory expects to produce 500 cars between now and the end of 2011.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Le Duong Quang emphasized the role the Vina-Mazda factory will play in boosting Vietnam’s automobile industry.

He proposed that Vina-Mazda transfer technology and assist with training to help Vietnam develop essential support industries.

MDEC Forum focuses on international economic integration

The Mekong River Delta Business (MDEC) Forum has underscored the need to promote trade and investment towards international economic integration and regional connectivity.

Closing on October 21, the 3-day MDEC Forum 2011, held in the southernmost province of Ca Mau, attracted nearly 500 representatives from centrally-run ministries and sectors, chairmen of the People’s Committees of the Mekong Delta provinces and HCM City, as well as prestigious managers, experts and entrepreneurs.

Seventy reports, ideas and proposals were presented at the forum highlighting the position, advantages and potential of the Mekong Delta region with the involvement of HCM City.

The forum proposed that Mekong Delta localities need to set up a mechanism for regional connectivity in the spirit of solidarity, cooperation and support from centrally-run ministries and sectors.

A joint statement was released at the forum focusing on the need to boost the region’s development in 2012 by adopting strategies that encourage regional investment attraction schemes, expand tourism initiatives, set up an information centre for submission to the PM, and devise an action plan to cope with climate change and the sea level rise.

The forum made a breakthrough in creating closer connectivity between Mekong Delta businesses and HCM City while giving them better opportunities to promote their trademarks globally.

Salt production and business under review

A conference was held in Hanoi on October 21 by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) to review this year’s salt production and discuss measures to buy, produce and supply Iodized salt.

In 2011, Vietnam’s total salt production area covered more than 14,500 hectares, and this year’s output is estimated to hit 800,000 tones, meeting only 80 percent of the end-of-year quotas.

Last year’s 400,000 ton stockpile of salt along with the large volumes kept by consumers and businesses has resulted in slower consumption and a drop in market demand.

Participants said that salt-producing enterprises are yet to access bank loans, and the MARD and the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT)’s granting of tariff quotas for salt import has greatly affected salt workers’ production and their income.

In the context of the soaring prices of essential goods, low salt prices of VND800-1,200 per kg has placed salt workers in a difficult position, and they are struggling to make ends meet.

Business and local government representative asked the agricultural sector to develop strategies with the aim of launching a salt production cooperative alliance, investing more in production facilities and advanced technology, stabilizing salt prices, and building national salt storages to adjust supply and demand as necessary.

They also highlighted the need to run training courses on salt production and processing techniques for workers and agricultural promotional staff.

At the conference, the MARD proposed carrying out five projects to launch model operations for clean salt production in Thai Binh, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh and Ba Ria-Vung Tau.

Vietnam is estimated to consume roughly 1.37 million tones of salt and its output is likely to hit 1 million tones in 2012.

Business climate worsens

The global ranking of Viet Nam's business environment has fallen eight places from 90 to 98, according to a new World Bank report titled Doing Business 2012.

Viet Nam performed well in the category for "Getting Credit", coming in at number 24, but faltered in the fields of "Protecting Investors", "Paying Taxes" and "Resolving Insolvency", ranked 166, 152 and 142, respectively.

The five highest-ranked ASEAN countries were Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei and Viet Nam. Singapore secured the top slot for the sixth time in a row, both within ASEAN and globally, while Viet Nam fell the farthest. In the world at large, Hong Kong, New Zealand, the US and Denmark trailed Singapore in the top five.

The report provided an aggregated ranking based on the ease of doing business, using indicator sets that measure regulations applying to domestic small- to medium-sized businesses.

Economies are ranked from 1 to 183. The overall ranking for each country is calculated by taking the average of its percentile rankings on each of the 10 topics included in the index: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, electricity supply, registering property, gaining credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency.

Craft villages urged to research markets
 
Craft villages must re-structure their operations to better compete in the global market, according to speakers at a conference held in Dong Nai Province last week.

Products made by Vietnamese craft villages are exported to 160 countries and territories, according to the Viet Nam Craft Village Association. The country expects to earn a total of US$3 billion from handicrafts export this year.

Many foreign buyers and tourists are fond of Vietnamese handicrafts, especially those that reflect the unique cultural traits of each traditional village.

Despite growth, the villages are facing difficulties, including competition from industrial products, unstable markets, and a lack of skilled workers and capital for further investment.

To remain operational, craft villages should focus on strengthening market research and improving product designs.

Participants at the conference said that all partners from production, supply and distribution should corporate to ensure stable outlets for craft-village products.

They also suggested that the Government develop policies to help villages train labourers.

In addition, villages could work closely with travel companies to attract more visitors to craft villages, which would enhance sales.

Viet Nam has 3,000 craft villages with more than 300 traditional ones, producing a wide range of handicrafts including pottery, lacquer, embroidery, wooden artefacts and stone carvings.

Two-thirds of craft villages are located in the northern plains. Some well-known names are Van Phuc silk, Dong Ky wood carving, Bat Trang pottery and Dong Ho paintings.

Other famous village products are My Xuyen wood carvings, Sinh paper paintings, Phu Cam conical hats and Thanh Ha pottery in the central region, while the south has Buu Long stone, Tan Van pottery, and many ornamental plant and bonsai villages.

The conference was organised by the Viet Nam Craft Association and the Dong Nai Province's Department of Industry and Trade

Delta targets overseas investors

Overseas Vietnamese should invest more in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta, a region that has attracted roughly 4 per cent of their total investment in the country, government officials have urged.

Nguyen Phuong Nga, deputy minister of Foreign Affairs, said the southwestern region had rich, unexploited potential.

Nga was speaking at a conference held in Ca Mau Province on Thursday, attended by overseas Vietnamese and representatives from foreign-affair office.

In recent years, the Government has created many favourable conditions to encourage overseas Vietnamese to invest in Viet Nam, who have made great contributions to the nation's development.

Nga said the country had licensed 3,500 projects invested in by overseas Vietnamese, with a total registered capital of US$11 billion.

However, most of the projects are located in HCM City, Ha Noi and provinces outside the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta.

Currently, there are more than 4 million overseas Vietnamese residing in 103 countries and territories. More than 10 per cent are university graduates and post-graduates.

Every year, more than 200 Viet Kieu return to Viet Nam to take part in scientific research, but few choose to work or invest in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta.

As of December 31 last year, there were only 300 projects invested in by overseas Vietnamese in the Delta, with a total charter capital of VND10 trillion ($476 million).

"The investment is quite low compared to the rest of the country and it focuses on agriculture and tourism rather than trade," Nga said.

Last year, only 40 overseas Vietnamese sought investment opportunities in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta. They visited and invested in Kien Giang, Long An and Tra Vinh provinces as well as Can Tho City.

The provinces of Dong Thap, Hau Giang, Bac Lieu, Ca Mau, Vinh Long and Soc Trang have never received investment from the overseas Vietnamese community.

Nga said that the Delta needed to develop specific policies to attract the overseas Vietnamese community.

She also asked the attendees to act as a bridge to the overseas Vietnamese community by encouraging them to take part in scientific research, technology transfer and human resources development.

Speaking at the conference, Tran Ngoc An, an overseas Vietnamese from Australia, said that overseas Vietnamese were reluctant to invest in Viet Nam now because of the instability of the macro-economy and the financial system, as well as the lack of transparency in capital and land management.

"The important thing is that we have not had incentives to attract investors from the overseas community whose roots are in the Delta," An said, adding that they were treated like any other foreign investors.

He also noted that remittances sent to Viet Nam had not been managed or used well in investment activities.

He suggested that the Government establish a bank for overseas Vietnamese, or an overseas Vietnamese investment fund.

For the first nine months of the year, overseas Vietnamese invested in 213 projects worth a total $1.047 billion in Viet Nam, according to the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

In recent years, the total amount of remittances sent to Viet Nam has reached $7-8 billion a year, equal to the yearly amount of ODA (Official Development Assistance) from foreign donors.

The three-day Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta Economic Co-operation Forum, which attracted 400 participants, ended yesterday.

Bank to finance dam project

The Viet Nam Development Bank (VDB) has agreed to lend VND441 billion (US$21.2 million) to build the Hua Na Hydropower Plant.

The plant located in the central province of Nghe An's Que Phong District, will cost VND5.9 trillion ($286 million), of which the owner's equity is VND2 trillion ($96 million). The remainder will be borrowed from the VDB under a preferential loan programme.

The plant, to be built by Hua Na Hydropower Joint Stock Company, will begin operating late next year, to supply 717kWh a year to the national grid.

Towers to go up at Times City

Hoa Binh Construction and Real Estate Corp and Ha Noi Southern City Development Joint Stock Co have signed a VND480 billion (US$22.8 million) contract to develop 18- and 20-storey buildings in Times City in Ha Noi's Hai Ba Trung District.

Times City is an urban complex of apartments, schools, trade centres, parks, sport and entertainment sections.

Ministry to merge State-owned firms

The Ministry of Transport has prepared a plan to establish four economic groups by merging its affiliated corporations next year.

To establish these groups would mean merging several State-run corporations.

The first group would merge three corporations: Cienco 1 (civil engineering construction company No 1), Cienco 8 and Thang Long Construction Corporation; the second group would merge Cienco 4, Cienco 5 and Cienco 6.

Construction, consultation, finance and credit corporations were scheduled to be merged with the Viet Nam Expressway Corporation to become the Viet Nam Expressway Investment Group. The three airport corporations— North, Central and South— were to be merged into the Viet Nam Investment and Airport Group.

Nation offers competitive retail market

Viet Nam remains one of the Asia-Pacific region's most competive retail markets, a seminar in HCM City was told this week.

Experts said the retail system was being developed through joint ventures between domestic and foreign businesses, though its market share remained smaller than others in the region.

Management of food hygiene and supply remained the sector's major challenges, the experts said.

State to control listed telecoms

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has signed Decision No 55/2011/QD-TTg listing the five telecommunication enterprises that will come under State control.

The State will hold a more than 50 per cent stake in the Viet Nam National Post and Telecoms Group (VNPT), military-run Viettel Group, GTel Mobile Joint Stock Company (GTel), Viet Nam Maritime Communication and Electronics LLC (Vishipel) and Indochina Telecom Joint Stock Company (Indochina Telecom).

The decision will take effect on December 1.

Bank gets digital signature service

Orient Commercial Joint Stock Bank and the Viet Nam Data Communications Company Region II have developed a digital signature service.

A digital signature is a mathematical scheme to demonstrate the authenticity of adigital message or document, making them unalterable in transit.

The service, VNPT-CA, will allow the bank to verify and secure customers' identification online.

Ha Noi's top land price jumps to US$27,000/sq.m

The price of land in the capital has jumped to a high of US$21,000-27,000 per square metre for street corner locations around Hoan Kiem Lake, according to Colliers International, an international property and research firm.

Colliers said that the central business districts of Hoan Kiem and Hai Ba Trung average between $2,611-27,000 per square metre because of trade advantages.

Prices of land in Thanh Xuan, Ba Dinh, Cau Giay, Dong Da and Tay Ho districts range between $2,590-18,940 per square metres of land.

The more undeveloped eastern part of the city has managed to retain land prices of around $2,100 per square metre.

Viet Nam to have national real estate brokerage

The Viet Nam Real Estate Association (VREA) is considering plans to establish a real estate brokerage organisation, according to Phan Thanh Mai, VREA general secretary.

The property brokerage association, to be run by the VREA and managed by the Ministry of Construction, would connect Government offices with the real estate market, promoting transparency and efficiency, Mai said.

The organisation would incorporate 30,000 workers already involved in the property brokerage sector.

Construction begins on Khai Quang urban area

Construction of Khai Quang urban region in Vinh Yen City, northern Vinh Phuc Province, kicked off on Thursday with a total investment of VND585 billion (US$27.99 million).

Project construction, expected to reach completion by 2014, will provide modern houses, apartments and villas to up to 1,500 city residents.

Some developers withdraw from house-trading fair

A number of real estate firms have withdrawn from a property fair based on selling houses and apartments without intermediaries due to a lack of transparency in organisation.

The firms include the Global Petroleum Investment JSC, Song Da-Thang Long and Constrexim.

According to fair organisers, the ASEAN C&C Media JSC, the event was scheduled to open in September and has been delayed until October 21-23 following various problems.

Clothing trade needs better service centres
 
Viet Nam's textile and garment businesses should develop their service centres, especially the industry's small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), participants were informed at a workshop held in Ha Noi yesterday.

This workshop on Capacity Building for Service Centres to Develop SME Cluster was part of a 3 million-euro (US$4.28 million) development project funded by the Italian government and implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and the Enterprise Development Agency (EDA) under the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment.

The main objective of this project is to contribute to the sustainable development of Vietnamese SMEs: increasing their competitiveness, upgrading the quality of their products, and improving their access to international markets. A key approach for improving SME competitiveness was the establishment of industry clusters, strengthening connections between businesses in order to create an environment that facilitates innovation and sustainable development.

In a speech delivered at the event, Italian Ambassador to Viet Nam Lorenzo Angeloni said his government had paid attention to SME cluster development within UNIDO and believed SMEs had played an important role in the economy.

He said Viet Nam should attempt to build trademarks by studying the examples of foreign countries, adding that Italy would be a good partner for a middle-income country like Viet Nam.

EDA's deputy director cum national project director Nguyen Trong Hieu said the project had been implemented for nearly three years in Viet Nam, aiming to increase competitiveness and restructuring businesses.

"A service centre in the north would help textile and garment businesses meet export requirements," he said.

Patrick Gilabert, UNIDO representative in Viet Nam, agreed, adding that the centres would also meet the requirements of domestic firms for design, export promotion, and marketing information.

Enrico Ottolini, senior project advisor of International T&G Advisor, said service centres would provide testing, training, technology consultation and opportunities for applied research. They would focus on building competence and teaching the skills needed for sector development.

"The establishment of the centre is a result of public-private consensus between local and national stakeholders. The centre will have private soul but a public vision," he said.

He added that Viet Nam had strongly supported the decision to upgrade the Textile Research Institute (TRI) as one kind of centre that would offer a wide array of services, ranging from product design to export promotion to waste management and pollution control.

Statistics from Viet Nam T&G Industry showed that the country has employed nearly 2 million people, with direct labourers numbering around 1.1 million. It has about 4,000 enterprises with the State as a major shareholder, accounting for 77.5 per cent of the companies.

Export turnover this year was estimated to reach an average of $1 billion per month.

It also forecast that textile and garment production would move from East European countries to Asian ones in the next three to four years.

"It would be a good time for Indian, Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Vietnamese and Cambodian clothing manufacturers to expand production," he said.

He expected that the value of the testing market in Viet Nam would soon reach $20 million per year and have a market growth rate of 10 per cent per year.

"Lab equipment produced by Viet Nam's organisations were thought to be modern and accurate enough to provide reliable tests. Vietnamese technicians are able to perform their jobs effectively," he added.

Director of HCM City's Concetti Consultancy Centre Han Manh Tien said the centre must be able to interact with local companies and associations, providing customised consultations for the development of new projects.

Trade with Russians may hit $3b next year as doors keep opening
 
Bilateral relations between Viet Nam and Russia have developed significantly over the past few years, Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) General Secretary Pham Thi Thu Hang said at a business conference in the capital yesterday.

Two-way trade rose from US$300-400 million in the 1990s to $2.4 billion in 2010. Turnover was expected to reach $3 billion in 2012 and $10 billion in 2020, she said.

However, there was still room for developing the relatively modest two-way trade further, she said, adding that last year, Vietnamese exports to Russia accounted for merely 0.3 per cent of the country's total import turnover.

Hang said that she hoped yesterday's event, with the participation from over 100 businesses, would open a new page for bilateral co-operation based on commerce and investment.

Vietnamese enterprises have been paying increasing attention to the Russian market, said Pham Vu Hai, director of the Investment Promotion Centre-North Viet Nam under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

Currently, Russia was Viet Nam's second largest outbound investment market after Laos. To date, Vietnamese companies have invested $1.67 billion in 18 projects in Russia. These projects mostly involved oil and gas, banking and trade.

Meanwhile, Russian companies have pumped $910 million into Viet Nam, helping the country rank 23rd among those investing in the Southeast Asian nation.

During the event, Russian enterprises expressed their hopes for accelerating co-operation with Vietnamese partners in biological technologies, oil and gas, mining, pharmaceuticals, machinery, energy and electronics.

Yesterday also witnessed a co-operation agreement inked between the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Moscow Entrepreneurs Association.

Under the agreement, the two sides would join hands in strengthening and expanding economic and commercial ties between Russian and Vietnamese companies.

They would also co-ordinate in organising business conferences as well as trade fairs and exhibitions in order to help firms better update each other with market information and business opportunities.

A delegation of 15 leading businesses from Russia also met with local businesspeople in HCM City yesterday to examine mutual investment opportunities.

They met with local businesspeople at a seminar organised by the VCCI's branch in HCM City in collaboration with the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry based in the country's Tomsk region.

Andrey Trubitsin, vice governor of the Tomsk region, which is one of four technology development economic areas in Russia, said Vietnamese businesses would be entitled to preferential taxes, including a 0 per cent transport tax for 10 years, 0 per cent property tax for 10 years, 0 per cent for imported customs and 0 per cent land tax for five years. The other tech-development areas include St. Petersburg, Moscow (Zelenograd administrative district), and the Dubna area around Moscow.

The visiting Russian businesses operate in various sectors, including information technology, health equipment, medicine, electricity cables, hi-tech, investment funds, oil and gas, software and biotechnology.

The Tomsk region has some of Russia's top universities and talented professionals, with the highest percentage of tertiary-level graduates. Many IT and scientific research companies are located there as well.

The region is one of Russia's top five in producing oil and gas, ranking first in fresh and mineral water supply and second in lignum fossil supply.

Delta provinces to improve planning and avoid further losses of rice crops

The autumn-winter rice crop in the Cuu Long (Mekong) River Delta is in danger of being completely lost because of flooding in the region for the last month and poor planning by provincial authorities, according to agricultural experts.

Speaking at a conference held on Wednesday in Can Tho, Dr. Le Van Banh, director of the Cuu Long Delta Rice Research Institute said that violent floods had caused dykes to collapse, destroying thousands of ha of the autumn-winter rice crop.

To reduce the losses, provinces have had to mobilise all available forces to protect the remaining rice crops.

The losses have led to increased debate about whether a third rice crop should be planted next year and what could be done to prevent further losses in the future, including building a better dyke system.

Even though floods arrived a month earlier this year, many farmers went ahead with planting because rice prices had risen.

Banh said that better planning should be done next year before the flood season arrives.

As of yesterday, floods in the Delta had killed 49 people, inundated 88,300 houses and destroyed 23,000 of 630,000 ha of autumn-winter rice. It has eroded 1,700 kilometres of dykes.

To protect the rice, the research institute is working with local provinces to help reduce losses for farmers.

The largest area devoted to the third rice crop this year is located in An Giang Province, according to Nguyen Huu Anh, director of the An Giang Plant Protection sub-Department.

Although farmers in An Giang were warned about violent floods, they continued to plant a third rice crop and even expanded it to a larger area, he said.

The province has 131,000 ha under the autumn-winter crop, a year-on-year increase of 17,000 ha.

In Kien Giang Province, the area for the third crop increased from 15,000 ha in 2010 to 53,000 ha this year, although the year's target was only 36,000 ha, according to Tran Quang Cui, director of the Kien Giang Agriculture and Rural Development Department.

Farmers in the highly flood-prone area in the Long Xuyen Triangle also planted 11,000 ha more rice while Hau Giang Province added 10,000 ha to the third rice crop.

Dong Thap Province's combined area for the third crop is 98,858 ha, 40,000 ha more than last year's figure. Attractive rice prices also encouraged farmers in Can Tho City to put 54,000 ha under the third rice crop.

According to the research institute, only 50 per cent of the autumn-winter rice fields in An Giang are contained within a local dyke system, and the remainder are in areas that have weak dykes or no dykes.

In Dong Thap, only 70 per cent of the fields used for the third rice crop are protected by dykes. The remaining farmland is in a high-risk area unprotected by dykes.

Mr Cui of Kien Giang Province said the dyke system in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta was too old and that it was built to protect only summer-autumn crops from floods in August, which are usually not heavy.

"Most provinces in the delta compete with each other in growing a third rice crop," he said, adding that the planting had overloaded the dyke system.

According to a representative of the An Giang Agriculture and Rural Development Department, provincial authorities believe it is necessary to strengthen dykes but they do not have enough money.

Provincial authorities had set aside money from the state budget and had called for local people to contribute funds, but the amount has been insufficient.

Speakers at the conference noted that late-season third crops often gave high yields and could be sold at high prices, benefiting farmers.

Building a solid dyke system in the region would allow a third planting of the crop every year, they said.

Nguyen Thi Kieu, deputy director of the Can Tho Agriculture and Rural Development Department, said that provinces in the delta needed to jointly devise a detailed plan on how they should plant the third rice crop of the year.

"Construction of a dyke system remains critically important, especially because of flooding and climate change. However, we need financial support from the Government to realise it," Kieu said.

Stability sought in declining salt supply
 
Viet Nam is targeting a stable salt supply despite a 33 per cent decline in production, according to Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Planning (MARD) officials speaking at a conference in review of the sector held yesterday.

Statistics have revealed that Viet Nam's total salt production area consisted of an estimated 14,600 hectares in 2011, with production totalling 763,000 tonnes during the first 10 months. Current production is predicted to reach nearly 800,000 tonnes.

The Ministry has additionally forecast that demand could reach 1.38 million tonnes while the supply was estimated at about 1.46 million tonnes in 2012.

Experts have attributed the decrease in production to adverse weather effects experienced this year including higher out-of-season rains and a lack of sunlight. However, the quality of salt, especially that used by industries and chemical-related sectors, has been increased due to greater application of new technologies.

An Van Khanh, deputy director of the MARD's Department of Agro-Forestry-Fisheries and Salt, said that lower production would still be capable of meeting domestic demand.

However, he noted that farmers continued to struggle with bad weather, unstable production areas and hard-to-access loans at high interest rates.

Ho Xuan Hung, deputy minister of the MARD, said that the Ministry was working on a comprehensive project to find output markets for salt farmers, revising zoning plans related to production and applying technologies to construct assembly lines for salt used in industries.

The Ministry plans to establish a salt development strategy in 2012, focusing on production areas with competitive edge.

With five clean salt production models to be located in Thai Binh, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh and Ba Ria-Vung Tau provinces at VND1 billion ($US48,000), the Ministry would also focus on increasing investment in national salt storage to prevent future salt shortages.

TA