Vietnam sees a great opportunity to develop its agribusiness sector
thanks to recent positive improvements in the economy and business
environment, according to the Business Monitor International (BMI).
Under a report released by BMI, Vietnam’s agriculture sector holds
strong growth opportunities to speed up its growth in terms of
production, exports and retail sales, especially for the country’s
traditional products such as rice, coffee, livestock, and dairy
sectors.
However, Vietnam is facing growing
competition in its key markets, and the fulfillment of its promising
potential will only be achieved if the country steps up its
competitiveness and improves both products quality and supply chain
efficiency, the report said.
Vietnam’s
economic growth over the past decade witnessed many ups and downs due
to tumultuous periods of high inflation and fluctuation in the
exchange rate of Vietnamese dong, which weighed on competitiveness
for its exports.
However, in 2013, Vietnam’s
economy reached an important turning-point as the Government pushed a
series of policies aiming at maintaining price stability and
further addressing macroeconomic imbalances in its economy.
The Vietnamese Government also demonstrated its determination in
restructuring state businesses, while further supporting private areas
through issuing tax incentive policies and enhancing investment in
infrastructure development.
The country is
eager to attract foreign investment into a host of sectors , including
agriculture. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in agriculture is
currently very modest, accounting for only 1-3 percent of the country’s
total FDI .
Not only hoping to lure more FDI,
Vietnam also plans to raise the agricultural sector’s production and
business efficiency in the coming time.
The
government also encourages its economic sectors to increase the
public-private partnership (PPP) programmes in various agriculture
subsectors, such as cultivation, breeding and seafood industry.
BMI forecasted that Vietnam’s rice production, cattle and poultry
farming and milk industry are likely to grow by more than 10 percent
between 2012 and 2017.
Vietnam’s export outlook
also looks promising, as the country is relatively competitive compared
with its traditional competitors, namely Thailand, Indonesia, India and
Brazil. Thanks to its efforts, Vietnam is now one of the world’s
leading countries in exporting coffee and rice.
BMI said that order to retain its growth, Vietnam needs to boost
quality and productivity in the agriculture industry by applying new
technologies in agricultural production, further issuing strict
regulations to ensure food safety, and setting up a brand name for
goods.
If the measures are implemented
successfully, they will help increase value of Vietnam’s exports, thus
increasing their competitiveness in the world market.-VNA