The Vietnam Sugar and Sugarcane Association has raised objections to the import of sugar, saying that it is causing a sugar surplus in the local market.
Nguyen Thanh Long, Chairman of the association said that enterprises have imported sugar just when sugar refineries are entering their peak production phase, causing a surplus of sugar in the market.
He said that by April 15, refineries had 510,000 tons of sugar in stocks, up by 142,000 tons compared to the same period last year. If they continue their production until the end of this sugarcane crop, an estimated 180,000 tons will be produced. By that time, the country would have 690.000 tons of sugar.
He added that together with 70,000 tons that will be imported by July, the country would have a total of 760,000 tons.
The total consumption in the country is expected to be 120,000 tons per month, which means that the country will need only 600,000 tons for the next five months.
Hence, the country will see a surplus of 160,000 tons of sugar, not taking into account any illegal sugar imports, he said.
Does sugar import affect farmers?
Ever since sugar refineries began to increase their production few years ago, sugarcane farms have also increased. The country presently has 270,000 hectares of sugarcane cultivation.
Fifteen years ago, the Mekong Delta region had about 100,000 hectares of sugarcane farming, but farmers failed to sell their produce to sugar refineries, who continuously suffered losses till farmers reduced their farming area to 48,000 hectares.
According to the Agriculture Department of Phung Hiep District in the Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang, the sugarcane area in the district has increased by a further 300 hectares in the last cropping season.
The department said because sugar prices soared, farmers switched to planting sugarcane on land that produced poor quality rice and was being used as a garden.
Phung Hiep District is one of the localities having the largest sugarcane farming area in the region, with nearly 9,000 hectares under sugarcane cultivation.
When the price of sugarcane exceeded to VND1,000 per kilogram, farmers began to enjoy fat profits, about VND40-50 million per hectare while some even earned a profit of over VND140, 000 during the last harvest.
It is necessary to stabilize the lives of millions of sugarcane farmers nationwide, in view of the present economic difficulties in the country. The Government should put off the import of sugar and subsidize loan interest rates for sugar refineries to maintain production.
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