Minister Le Minh Hoan: Domestic food security is still guaranteed

Rice output will ensure the plan, fully meet domestic rice demand and export requirements.

As planned, on the afternoon of August 15, 2023, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan will answer questions on agricultural issues at the 25th session of the National Assembly Standing Committee.

In a draft report to be presented to the National Assembly, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan said that rice is still the staple food, accounting for 70% of Vietnamese people's food consumption.

NO WORRY ABOUT RICE SHORTAGE

According to Minister Le Minh Hoan, by the end of 2020, the rice growing area nationwide was more than 3.94 million hectares. In 2.5 years (from 2021 to July 2023), about 6,370 hectares of land were converted for use and the rice growing area was reclaimed. The converted and reclaimed land area was appraised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and submitted to the Prime Minister for approval.

Regarding the rice export situation, the Minister said that by the end of July 2023, Vietnam exported 4.83 million tons of rice, earning nearly 2.6 billion USD. The main traditional export markets in Asia were 3.3 million tons (accounting for more than 77%), up nearly 36% over the same period last year. Some markets grew remarkably such as the EU, accounting for 2% of total output but reaching more than 84,000 tons, up 28% over the same period last year.

According to the Commander of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, after the announcement of ban on rice export by India, Russia, and UAE, the price of Vietnamese rice on the world market has increased continuously in the past three weeks.

Citing data from the Vietnam Food Association, the Minister said that the export price of 5% broken rice from Vietnam on August 9 climbed to 618 USD/ton, with some businesses signing export contracts at nearly 660 USD/ton for 5% broken rice; the export price of 25% broken rice also reached 598 USD/ton. Thus, in just 20 days, the average export price of rice has increased by 85 USD/ton.

"Currently, many markets such as China, the Philippines, and Indonesia are competing to buy Vietnamese rice with quantities increasing by 40% to several dozen times," the Minister informed.

Regarding the domestic rice supply, Minister Le Minh Hoan said that in the context of some countries such as India, Russia, and the UAE banning rice exports, Vietnam's rice production still increased. The total rice growing area in 2023 for all crops is about 7.1 million hectares; the average yield is 60.7 quintals/ha, the estimated output is over 43.1 million tons of paddy, an increase of about 452 thousand tons compared to 2022.

According to calculations in the high safety scenario, the amount of rice used to ensure food security for 100 million people and other domestic consumption needs is about 29.5 million tons of rice per year.

Of which, about 13.8 million tons of rice are used as food for people; 7.5 million tons of rice are used for processing; 3.4 million tons of rice are used for livestock; 1.0 million tons of rice are used as seeds and reserve seeds; and 3.8 million tons of rice are reserved domestically.

In addition to domestically produced rice, Vietnam also imports a certain amount of rice from Cambodia and India each year. For example, the amount of rice imported from Cambodia is about 1 million tons per year, to compensate if necessary.

According to data from the Indian Ministry of Industry and Trade, in the first 5 months of 2023, Vietnam imported about 367,500 tons of Indian rice, an increase of nearly 32% over the same period in 2022 and ranked 8th among countries importing rice from this billion-people country.

“However, rice imported from India is mainly used for food processing and animal feed. Therefore, India's ban on white rice exports does not have a major impact on rice for Vietnamese consumption,” the Minister affirmed.

Minister Le Minh Hoan commented: From now until the end of the year, if there are no unusual weather developments, rice output will ensure the plan, fully meet domestic rice demand and export requirements, possibly exporting from 7.5 million tons to a maximum of 8 million tons of rice, equivalent to 15 million tons of paddy.

"Ensuring food security is not only about having enough rice, but also includes other food products and foods. In addition to rice, Vietnam annually produces an average of more than 7 million tons of fresh meat for sale, 10 million tons of seafood and tens of millions of tons of vegetables and fruits. Overall, at the national level, food security is guaranteed if considered based on supply capacity," Minister Le Minh Hoan emphasized.

Thoroughly handle IUU fishing violations to remove the "YELLOW CARD"

Regarding the agricultural, forestry and fishery sector, in the first 7 months of 2023, the total export turnover reached 29.13 billion USD, down 9.1% over the same period in 2022. The Commander of the agricultural sector said that difficulties in exporting agricultural, forestry and fishery products still exist, market demand is recovering slowly, some recent market fluctuations pose additional challenges but also open up many opportunities.

To overcome difficulties, take advantage of opportunities to ensure domestic food supply security and increase exports in the last months of 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will update comprehensive and careful market developments to disseminate and support people and businesses to overcome difficulties and take advantage of market opportunities.

Currently deciding to punish 100% of cases: (i) fishing vessels disconnecting VMS equipment for more than 10 days, frequently disconnecting while operating at sea, and crossing the prescribed maritime boundaries; (ii) units providing equipment to monitor fishing vessels not complying with regulations on installation, providing warranty services, and repairing damaged VMS equipment for people.

On the other hand, we will continue to coordinate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Industry and Trade to increase and innovate communication organization to promote the outstanding quality of Vietnamese agricultural products in domestic and foreign markets. Regarding production, we will flexibly direct production, ensure food security and safety for domestic consumption and ensure supply to meet export demand.

In the long term, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will prioritize the completion of legal policies to develop trademarks and brands of key agricultural products. Agricultural production will be reorganized towards sustainability, such as piloting the construction of standard agricultural and forestry raw material areas to serve domestic consumption and export by 2025...

In addition, continue to accelerate the development and submission to the Government for promulgation and implementation of the Project "Sustainable development of 1 million hectares of high-quality rice cultivation associated with green growth in the Mekong Delta", the Project "Development of a logistics system to improve the quality and competitiveness of Vietnamese agricultural products by 2030, vision 2050".

Regarding the exploitation, protection and development of aquatic resources, removing the "yellow card" of the European Commission (EC), the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development said that violations of laws related to the exploitation and protection of aquatic resources still occur.

In an effort to remove the “yellow card” from the EC, the Ministries of National Defense, Agriculture and Rural Development and People’s Committees of coastal provinces and cities under the Central Government are urgently directing law enforcement forces (Border Guard, Coast Guard, Fisheries Surveillance, Fisheries Inspectorate, etc.) to increase patrols, inspections and controls to identify violations and strictly handle IUU fishing violations.

Source vneconomy

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