CAN THO – The Government has given the green light to converting ineffective sugarcane farming areas and restructuring lossmaking or low-performing sugar mills in line with market forces, according to the prime minister’s recent directive on introducing measures to develop the local sugarcane and sugar industry.
Under Directive 28, signed on July 14 by Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung, during the coming period, the industry has to proactively enhance its competitiveness to join the global economy and establish sugarcane growing zones and sugar mills that ensure effective operations and sustainable development.
Besides this, the sector needs to reorganize and improve sugarcane production, lower the production costs of sugar, meet the global rising demand for sugar, generate power as well as manufacture fertilizers and animal feed from sugarcane and sugar byproducts.
The sector also has to review and analyze challenges from the past as well as those that lie ahead to work out measures to restructure its manufacturing and business operations, increase processing capacity and the competitiveness of sugar mills.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development was asked to team up with relevant agencies and local authorities to draw up and present plans to the Government on facilitating agricultural mechanization. They were also urged to study new production and processing methods to diversify sugarcane items and byproducts.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade was told to monitor and promptly propose the adoption of trade remedies against imported sugar products in line with international practices and to create a database on the import-export and production of sugarcane and sugar products to support enterprises in preparing trade remedy documents.
Moreover, the State Bank of Vietnam was told to direct credit institutions to create favorable conditions for sugarcane and sugar producers to access bank loans, as well as adopt solutions to remove obstacles facing these customers in accordance with prevailing regulations.
By Trung Chanh
