Prioritised Development of Leading Industries

By effectively deploying production expansion, market development and export promotion programmes and projects as well as solutions to deal with difficulties against enterprises, the industry of Ben Tre province has always maintained a very good growth rate. Industrial production value increased 25.22 percent a year on average in the 2011-2013 period and the added value increased 15.96 percent a year. The ratio of industry to GDP rose from 12.71 percent in 2010 to 15.98 percent in 2013. The export turnover of industrial products jumped 38 percent a year on average in that period, grossing US$906 million in those three years.

 

Industrial infrastructure continues to be invested and developed. An Hiep Industrial Park is fully leased by investors while Giao Long Industrial Park (first phase) also rented 93.26 percent of leasable area and Giao Long Industrial Park (second phase) let 69.35 percent. Industrial production level and technological capacity have been raised, thus helping the province to draw some projects using modern, advanced technologies and manufacturing highly-valued, highly-competitive products. Handicraft sector has been restored and developed.

 

Truong Minh Nhut, Director of the Ben Tre Department of Industry and Trade, said the industry of Ben Tre province is constituted by four main sectors: Extractive industry, processing and manufacturing industry, electricity and gas distribution industry, and water supply industry. Contributing over 95 percent of industrial pie, the processing and manufacturing industry decides the overall industrial growth of Ben Tre. Particularly, the processing industry of agricultural products, seafood and food accounts for over 54 percent of industrial production value. This is also the key industry of the province.

 

To develop advantageous industries, Ben Tre has deployed many different support and encouragement programmes, schemes and policies, including the leading industry and prioritised industry development strategy in the 2011 - 2020 phase (defining two key industries and seven prioritised industries) and the agricultural, seafood and food processing development scheme until 2020. In addition, to develop the industry sustainably and efficiently, the Ben Tre Provincial People's Committee also issued the Decision No. 974/QD-UBND dated April 27, 2011 to approve the Ben Tre Industrial Development Plan to 2020. The objectives of this plan are to focus on developing industries that the province has advantages and competitive edges. Coconut processing and seafood processing are the two primary industries that dominate the overall industrial development. The plan also aims to encourage the production of exports, increase big revenue for the State Budget, create many jobs for local labourers, reduce labour-intensive industries, and increase basic industries, high-tech industries and support industries. Industrial production value is expected to reach VND14,400 billion in 2015 and VND34,410 billion in 2020, thus representing an average annual growth of 24 percent in the 2011 - 2015 period and 19.02 percent a year in the 2016 - 2020 period.

 

He said, in the Ben Tre Industrial Development Plan to 2020, the province for development of leading, advantageous industries is underlined. The province will exert its maximum resources to carry out processing industry development projects based on the general development plans of the province and the region and integrate with the industrialisation and modernisation of agriculture and countryside. The locality will also attach much importance to technological innovation and processing industry development in material-available areas to generate jobs for rural workers. Last but not least, to ensure the competitiveness of local products in the integration process, the province also pursues the sustainability and efficiency of processing industries and environmental protection.