Vietnam Forecast to Face Sugar Shortage in 2009
Vietnam will deal with possible shortage of sugar in 2009 because of reduced sugarcane area, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).
The MARD said 40 Vietnamese sugar refineries are preparing for new crop, starting from Sept, but sugarcane area has decreased to only 290,000 hectares from 306,000 hectares in 2007-2008 crop.
Low sugarcane prices prompting local farmers to shift to other crops cultivation was the main reason for the decrease in area.
The ministry said with productivity estimated at 57 tons per hectare, Vietnam’s total sugarcane output may reach 16.5 million tons, or 1.25 million tons of sugar.
But local demand is forecast to hit 1.35 million-1.4 million tons. If the country imports 60,000 tons of sugar under its WTO commitment, it will still lack at least 40,000 tons.
Vietnamese sugar refineries concluded 2007-2008 crop in July 2008, with total output of 1.249 million tons, in addition to 58,000 tons of imports.
The refineries expected to raise their revenues to VND11 trillion in 2008-2009 crop, from VND10.346 trillion in 2007-2008 crop. (Vietnam & World Economy)
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