"Luckily I have insurance"

Nearly a month after storm No. 3, Viet Truong Company Limited (Do Son, Hai Phong ) is still in a state of devastation due to the roofs of its 5 factories being blown off. The entire frozen warehouse, thousands of tons of seafood products have almost been destroyed and no longer meet export standards due to a power outage for 5 consecutive days. 60 hectares of aquaculture land were also swept away by the storm.

According to the company's estimates, the immediate damage is more than 100 billion VND, not to mention missed business opportunities and contract penalties from foreign partners. Workers have not been able to return to work because the factory is only operating at about 50% capacity.

It is estimated that it will take at least 5 more years for Viet Truong to fully recover to its pre-typhoon Yagi state.

Member enterprises of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) from the South and Central regions sent teams of engineers and mechanics to support Viet Truong in troubleshooting.

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Factory affected after storm. Photo: Tuan Nguyen

Mr. Ngo Minh Phuong, CEO of Viet Truong Company Limited, said that the company has not been able to buy materials to repair the roof and ceiling, so for now, it has to be satisfied with the patchwork plan of "taking from one place to cover another", focusing on key locations.

“Currently, the company has only resumed operations at about 50% capacity because we do not have money to buy raw materials and pay employees. We are still lucky because we have purchased special risk insurance, while 100% of aquaculture households in the area are left empty-handed because they do not buy insurance,” said Mr. Phuong.

It is known that the amount of money Viet Truong spent to buy insurance at Agribank Insurance Company (ABIC) was 30 million VND. This insurance package has a maximum compensation value of 80 billion VND. Considering the ratio of total inventory value, this business is compensated with insurance of over 20 billion VND.

The company has only received 2 billion VND in advance compensation from ABIC.

Talking to VietNamNet , Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Tam, Deputy Director of ABIC Hai Phong Branch, said that up to now, Hai Phong, Quang Ninh and Hai Duong have 300 customers eligible for compensation, with compensation amounting to about 300 billion VND.

“The repair and maintenance will take a long time. To fully pay the customer, we need to wait for the conclusion of an independent appraisal unit. For now, the company can only make an advance payment,” said Ms. Tam.

According to Mr. Phuong, for the current business, every penny is precious, so receiving advance compensation will help the company have money to pay workers' salaries, the remaining small amount will be used to repair the factory. He hopes that the compensation process will be completed soon so that the company can reinvest and return to operation as soon as possible.

Proposal for the State to partially support agricultural insurance costs

According to Mr. Nguyen Hoai Nam, Deputy General Secretary of VASEP, seafood enterprises not only suffered direct damage caused by the storm, but the biggest loss was business opportunities. "It takes at least a week to repair the factory and put it into operation after the storm, not to mention that input materials are also affected so they cannot be available immediately," Mr. Nam said.

Mr. Tran Dinh Luan, Director of the Department of Fisheries (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), said that the total damaged aquaculture area in Quang Ninh and Hai Phong was up to 3,000 hectares with over 14,000 fish cages, of which over 12,000 were at sea. The estimated damage to aquaculture farmers was over 6,000 billion VND.

According to Mr. Luan, insurance in the agricultural sector has not been widely popularized yet, the reasons come from two sides. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is proposing that the Government have a policy to support part of the insurance costs for risky sectors such as marine farming, so that the story of insurance for aquaculture farmers can be done regularly and continuously.

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Businesses are trying to resume operations. Photo: Tuan Nguyen

In addition to bank support in lowering interest rates and restructuring debt, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development calls on businesses providing input materials to join hands to support people in restoring production.

“There are businesses that want to accompany people from the stage of providing breeds, guiding environmental treatment, and there are businesses that commit to supporting the production chain and purchasing products,” said Mr. Luan.

The State Bank of Vietnam is drafting a new circular regulating the restructuring of debt repayment terms for customers affected by storm No. 3. The State Bank of Vietnam will submit to the Government a decision to maintain the debt group for these restructured loans. This circular is currently being sent to solicit opinions from relevant parties. Before October 3, the opinions of the parties will be sent to the State Bank of Vietnam for synthesis and submission to the Government for a mechanism to maintain the debt group.

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