VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) is considering hiring Chinese consultants to helping Vietnam increase farm exports to the vast Chinese market.

Farmers feed ducks and buffaloes with watermelons

A recent story about hundreds of watermelon-laden trucks getting stuck at the border on their way to China has caused a public outcry. Farmers in the central provinces now weep bitterly because they cannot sell their produce. And the people in Quang Ngai feel compelled to feed unsold fruit to their cattle.

Watchdog agencies attribute the problem to overproduction, and a consequent oversupply. However, this explanation does not satisfy the National Assembly’s Deputies.

Has the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) conducted surveys on demand for farm produce? Is China the only market for Vietnam’s watermelons? Should Vietnam target other non-Chinese markets?

A lot of questions have been raised for MOIT, which is responsible for matters of foreign trade.

Tran Thanh Hai, Deputy Director of the Import-Export Agency, an arm of MOIT, admits that a full understanding of export markets for Vietnam’s farm produce remains elusive.

To their credit, MOIT and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) have drawn up a plan on boosting farm exports. However, “farm exports” in this case means only rice, while the export of other farm produce remains unaddressed.

Also, according to Hai, MOIT is considering hiring consultants in China, or Chinese consultants to assist in the implementation of a national plan on boosting exports to China. The consultants, who have in depth knowledge of the Chinese market, would advise on how to penetrate the market more deeply.

But Professor Vo Tong Xuan, considered the country’s best rice and farm produce expert, takes a dubious view of MOIT’s intentions. “The plan by MOIT explains why Vietnam is still so poor”, he opined.

“There is no value in hiring Chinese consultants. Vietnam does not lack experts so seriously that it needs Chinese consultants.”

According to Xuan, it is the MOIT which needs to send experienced Vietnamese consultants to China to learn more about the market. They can then advise Vietnamese farmers about what and when to produce.

“It is necessary to learn about demand first, and then organize production based on the information collected,” he insisted.

“This is the approach followed by other neighboring countries, including Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar. They organize production after finding export markets,” he continued. “I don’t think they intend to hire foreign consultants, especially Chinese”.

Another expert, who asked to remain anonymous, warned that hiring Chinese experts may do more harm than good. “Vietnam will surely have to spend money on consultancy services,” he said.

And what will happen if they have dark designs?” he added, reflecting recent accusations by scholars that Chinese businessmen have been flocking to Vietnam to collect farm produce with an aim of sabotaging Vietnam’s economy.

Do Thang Hai, Deputy Minister of MOIT, argued the point that in a market economy, it is the duty of every enterprise to play the decisive role in finding markets for its produce. He said that only in Vietnam, where the economic development remains at a low level, do the ministries and branches of government still find it necessary to provide support to enterprises.

Dat Viet