Department of Industry and Trade to connect enterprises’ farm produce supply and demands

Binh Duong Department of Industry and Trade has coordinated with Tra Vinh Department of Industry and Trade to hold a conference to connect supply and demand of peanut. The purpose is to build a complete chain of agricultural products, bring value added products and improve production efficiency for businesses.

Delegates are exchanging information on the sideline of the conference of connecting supply and demands of peanuts recently organized by Department of Industry and Trade. Photo: Tieu My

Obstacles materials resolved for enterprises

Trinh Thi Lien, a representative of YHM Company (Singapore), Song Than II Industrial Park, said that the company has invested in Binh Duong because of its former source of good peanut from Tan Uyen. Currently the company no longer buy the peanut from Tan Uyen and have moved to the neighboring areas, but the purchase is also very difficult. Previously, each year the company exports 2,000 - 3,000 tons of products but now only about 1,200 tons. Regarding peanut raw material in Tra Vinh, in the recent 3-4 years, the price has been quite high, while the quality is no longer as before. There are times when the company is subject to fierce competition from foreign traders, causing the passivity of raw materials production. Due to the difficulty in purchasing raw materials, the company has to import peanut from other countries. The company plans to relocate the plant north to find a more stable material source.

According to Luu Bao Hoa, director of Dan On Food Company (Hiep An Ward, Thu Dau Mot Town), peanut price in Tra Vinh is 10% higher than in the US. This difference makes it difficult for businesses in Vietnam to export their products to other countries. Hoa said that unsafe agricultural products are becoming a haunt for consumers. With peanut finished products, the inspection of aflatoxin is strictly implemented on exporting to Japan, Korea, and Canada. The company has invested in laboratories to test the input materials. Therefore, in order to create credibility and increase the competitiveness of Vietnamese agricultural products on the domestic and foreign markets, the key issue is that supplying enterprises must strictly comply with the production process to meet the requirements of food safety.

Tra Vinh province is the area with soil and climate suitable for peanut as quality of peanut is very good locally. At the place, peanut is developed strongly and the locality is aiming to develop high quality agricultural model to increase productivity and quality. According to representatives of the cooperatives purchasing agricultural products in Tra Vinh, now the products of the unit are mainly sold to traders with fluctuating prices. There are a number of cooperatives importing goods for the production company in Binh Duong and through the third party not directly with the company to make agreements in favor of both parties. Cooperatives and businesses want to find a link to stabilize the price of peanut so farmers do not have to rely on traders.

General efforts needed

Commodity-oriented Agricultural production to meet the standards and market demand is one of the indispensable requirements for agricultural products to become stable. According to experts, supply and production are the two main factors for economic development. However, the link between these two has not been rhythmic. In seasons, enterprises have even been disrupted as the supplying party sells to foreign traders.

At the meeting, department leaders of Binh Duong and Tra Vinh provinces said that the conference on supply and demand for agricultural products is very necessary in order to create linkages between suppliers and production enterprises. This is also the basis for building value chains of agricultural products and foodstuffs, contributing to the construction of material areas and large-scale production areas for agricultural products of enterprises to service domestic demand and export. This is one of the activities implemented by the Ministry of Industry and Trade on the implementation of a group of programs to support the development of a fixed and sustainable system of distribution of goods in Vietnam, enlisting projects on development of domestic market associated with the campaign "Vietnamese people prioritize use of Vietnamese goods" in 2014-2020.

For those activities to be enriched for efficiency and sustainable development, localities must build up the complete linkage chain to create added value for products and stable source of raw materials for enterprises on the basis of mutual benefits. Binh Duong enterprises also want local authorities in Tra Vinh to be more active in directing the cooperatives to propagate and mobilize people to change their production from spontaneous to market demand so as to enhance the value of products.

Tran Quoc Tuan, Director of Tra Vinh Department of Industry and Trade, said that the department will work with other functional departments to consult with the provincial People's Committee to expand the material area to better serve the market. Beside the efforts of functional departments to ensure quality as well as price, Binh Duong enterprises also need to meet directly with suppliers to investigate the supply, quality, and price to sign contracts for long term.

Reported by Tieu My – Translated by Vi Bao

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