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Private company exports longan berries to Canada
The Ngoc Nhan company in Cai Be district in the southern province of Tien Giang has shipped a 24-tonne container of longan berries to the Canadian market at the price of nearly US$2 per kg, said its director Nguyen Xuan Huy.
The business had previously signed a contract to export 100,000 tonnes of the berries with the Ngoc Nhan trademark to the Middle East market, fetching US$2 per kg. Mr Huy said his company will fulfil the order for the Fasttrack company within a year. The goods must comply with Global GAP standards for agricultural products.
Since September 2008, the Ngoc Nhan company has used European technologies for the processing and packaging of longan exports to many countries across the world.
It currently has a 5ha area in Vinh Long province specifically designed for growing the fruit which meets Global GAP standards.
The business has also liased with Nha Be district to map out more than 150ha for growing longan berries for export.
Banks issue US$13.4 billion in subsidized loans
About VND236.82 trillion (US$13.38 billion) has been pumped into the economy at the Government-subsidized interest rate of 4 percent, said the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV).
State-owned banks and central credit funds have lent VND175.93 trillion (US$9.94 billion) since the rate was introduced early last month.
The programme is likely to inject another VND183.18 trillion (US$10.34 billion) into the economy this year.
The State Bank’s governor, Nguyen Van Giau, said that the programme was intended to lower the price of goods, maintain production and create jobs.
Last week, the Government told the Vietnam Development Bank to guarantee loans to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The banks are reported to be trying to absorb more and more mid and long-term capital to prepare for the second phase of subsidized loans, which was approved earlier this month.
Foreign-invested projects get PM’s approval
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has given the go-ahead to a German-funded project to help increase public participation in urban management.
The 785,000 EUR project, funded by the German Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Institute, will be implemented between 2009-2012.
The PM has also approved a project on Vietnam-Finland partnership for renovation work. The project will receive US$3.75 million in non-refundable aid from the Finnish government out of a total investment of US$4.3 million.
He has also given the greenlight to three projects in the agricultural sector that are being put into action by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research.
Ba Ria – Vung Tau invests USD300 million to build entrepot on Con Dao
The Ba Ria – Vung Tau People’s Committee has recently allowed the Trai Thien Sea Transport Joint-stock Company (Ho Chi Minh City) to invest USD 300 million in building an international sea entrepot in Con Dao District.
As planned, the new sea entrepot will be built on a site of 300 hectares under the standard in deep-water port and will be capable of receiving all large transport vessels in the region, as well as in the world, with a commodity volume of nearly 10 million tonne yearly.
Con Dao District is an archipelago of 14 various size islands located in the middle of the ocean, 185 kilometers from Vung Tau 185km; 230 kilometers from Ho Chi Minh 230km; and about 83 kilometer to the Hau river gateway (Can Tho). It has potential for commodities transport with sea and maritime logistic services, including fresh water and fuel.
Foreign steel continues to forge to the domestic market
On April 21st, Mr. Pham Chi Cuong, Chairman of the Vietnam Steel Association said that an estimated 150,000 tonnes of rolled steel from ASEAN and China was imported to Vietnam since early this year.
Of this, rolled alloy steel with Bo substance from China, which has an imposed 10 percent import tariff, accounts for 70,000 tonnes.
However, because imported steel cost are inching up around USD 520-530 per tonne, the difference in price between foreign and domestic steel has been reduced to VND 500,000-600,000 per tonne, from the previous VND 1 million per tonne.
Domestic steel cost on April 21st was adjusted up to VND 100,000 per tonne.
Rice exports increase rapidly
Rice exports have risen dramatically so far this year compared to the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Rice exports have increased by more than 70 percent in volume and by 80 percent in value since the beginning of the year, said the Vietnam Food Association (VFA).
About 235,000 tonnes of rice were exported in the first half of April, raising the total earning from 1.8 million tones to US$736 million over the past four months.
In the first half of April, export prices increased to US$460 per tonne for 5 percent broken rice and to US$400 per tonne for 25 percent broken rice, up US$5-20 a tonne compared to March.
World rice prices have continued to rise slightly, said the VFA, adding that rice exporters recently signed contracts to deliver 3.65 million tonne of rice during the first half of the year.
Nguyen Tri Ngoc, head of the ministry’s cultivation department, estimated that the winter-spring rice crop would yield 18 million tonnes.
The Mekong Delta, the country’s largest rice basket, has already harvested 95 percent of its crop, with a total output of about 9.72 million tonnes. Northern provinces are expected to have a total output of 6.5 million tonnes.
With current domestic rice prices, rice farmers would make a profit of more than 30 percent. To avoid price fluctuations, all of the harvested rice should be purchased by traders to keep farmers’ incomes stable, according to MARD.
Vietcombank gives more support to FDI businesses
The Joint-Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) has become the first domestic partner of the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment to provide banking services to foreign direct investment (FDI) businesses.
Under an agreement signed between Vietcombank and the FIA on April 21 in Hanoi, the FIA will help launch the bank’s promotional progammes to serve FDI businesses both inside and outside the country.
Both parties will cooperate in information exchange, advertisement for products and services, foreign investment promotion and other training activities.
Through the FIA, Vietcombank will gain access to reliable information related to FDI businesses and extend cooperation with foreign banks to provide better services for entrepreneurs.
Source: VietnamNet
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