Think-tank to help agro sector grow

The agricultural think-tank will be composed of experts outstanding in their fields Photo: Le Toan

This month in Hanoi will see the establishment of an independent task group which will include key local and foreign enterprises, agencies under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), senior local and foreign experts and consultants. The group is supported by the MARD.

“This group will be responsible for attracting investment funds into agriculture and rural development. It will help foreign firms and organisations implement projects in Vietnam via the public-private partnership or the wholly-foreign-invested form,” said senior agricultural expert Pham Hoang Ngan, also a group member.

“The group will help resolve difficulties facing investors. Investors will be provided with consultancy, information on input materials, outputs and distribution channels and even merger and acquisition activities,” Ngan said.

The group will have its own offices in the north, centre, Central Highlands and the south.

“Investors from Australia, South Korea and Japan have been waiting for such a group to come into existence for ages,” she told VIR while stressing that any project exploiting natural resources or polluting the environment would not be supported.

Ngan suggested the lack of interest from foreign investors in agricultural projects in Vietnam was due to the lack of support on information, policy transparency and problem resolution.

By the end of January this year, Vietnam was home to 525 foreign agricultural projects registered at $3.67 billion, a very small figure as compared to the country’s total 17,579 foreign invested projects valued at $251.83 billion.

“However, agricultural investments in Vietnam are increasing, with many foreign investors wanting to work with us on projects they’re planning,” Ngan said.

A delegation of major agricultural firms from Japan’s Wakayama province last week visited Vietnam in search of opportunities.

Tsuno Food Company, one of the world’s leaders in making cooking oil from rice bran, sees rice-making Vietnam as a lucrative market which Tsuno will explore further.

“Vietnam’s Mekong Delta has huge supply of rice bran material. That’s why we are planning to open a rice bran processing plant there. We’ll use technologies to turn rice bran into cooking oil, which will be exported to Japan,” said Tsuno representative Mayu Aizawa.

Last week also witness Israel’s Agrotop Company come to the northern province of Vinh Phuc to explore hi-tech livestock production projects via links with local enterprises. After seeking some information from the province, Agrotop’s representative BenVan Dijk said he would return to Vinh Phuc next month for further discussions.

Indonesia’s Tiga Pilar Sejahtera Food is reported to be planning to invest $80 million in acquiring stakes in food processing businesses in Vietnam and Malaysia this year. Tiga Pilar is eyeing a controlling stake in Vietnamese milk company Hanoimilk, with the negotiation with the Vietnamese partner to be completed shortly. Hanoimilk products sold in Indonesia could net Tiga Pilar an additional $18.8-23.5 million in annual profits.