Imperfections in food distribution plan considered

Critics argue that the plan to develop a food distribution system in Vietnam by 2020, drafted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), is too vague and too ambitious.

The 2020 food distribution plan in Vietnam has been open for suggestions from relevant ministries and branches. Once considered, the plan will then be submitted to the Government for approval in the third quarter of 2010, and, if approved, implementation will begin right at the end of the year.

24,500 billion dong in ambition

As planned, 24,500 billion dong will be spent to develop the food distribution system, which will build depots to store rice, wholesale base depots, supermarkets and convenience stores, and renovate processing technologies.

The plan’s goals are to consume all rice, ensure farmers minimum profits of 30 percent, and stabilize rice prices in the domestic market.

Under the plan, the Northern and Southern Food Corporations will become core food conglomerates. Cooperatives and clubs will be established to help farmers negotiate with enterprises and intermediary merchants.

Intermediary merchants and husking factories must have associations or clubs that belong to rice export companies. They will collect rice from farmers at prices set by competent agencies. Two kinds of prices will be announced: the price at which rice is sold in the fields and the price at enterprises.

Vietnam will have 157 wholesale farm produce markets, including 35 markets to be upgraded, 122 new markets (12 will be rice wholesale markets) and 38 seafood markets.

Food corporations will be in charge of programming wholesale base depots and developing first-class modern supermarket systems in big cities (4-5 supermarkets in each city). Second and third class supermarkets will be opened in districts (one per district) and convenience stores will operate in industrial zones in 62 poor districts nationwide. There will be two wholesale base depots in Hanoi and HCM City.

Plan not perfect

Critics note that the plan focuses only on rice, not other kinds of food. They maintain that it will be ineffective to develop supermarkets that sell only rice and some other farm produce and that is will be necessary to diversify.

Hoang Tho Xuan, Director of the Domestic Market Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, remarked that the force of intermediate merchants must be developed and needs to be mentioned in a separate plan. He stressed suitable policies for transforming intermediate merchants into professional collectors.

Moreover, a close link between northern and southern food corporations must be forged. Both must connect with the distribution network, so that any problems like those of April 2008 can be settled immediately.

Most importantly, according to Xuan, the distribution development plan needs to be associated with the production plan. Rice collectors also need equipment to husk, process and dry rice.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Diep Kinh Tan also proposed that the project would be difficult to implement since the issues are too large and vague.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Van Hoa, Deputy Head of the Cultivation Department, explained that Vietnam needs to establish rice producers’ associations to protect farmers’ rights. The operational food association is just for rice exporters.

Tags: Vietnam food