Vietnam Targets US$11Bln Farm Produce, Forest, Seafood Exports in 2010

Vietnam Targets US$11Bln Farm Produce, Forest, Seafood Exports in 2010

Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has approved the country's master plan to restructure agriculture, forestry and fishery production next year, targeting earning US$11 billion from exports of farm, forest products and seafood in 2010.

Under the master plan, Vietnam's agricultural economic structure will comprise of 65 per cent for cultivation, 30 per cent for husbandry, and 5 per cent for services, with the aim of accelerating the average growth rate of agro-forestry and fishery production value to between 4 and 4.5 per cent.

This will help raise the per-capita income in rural areas to double that of 2000.

The government is requiring the agricultural sector to replace rice cultivation on 102,000 hectares with aquaculture and cultivation of other crops while expanding the land under cultivation by around 120,000-150,000 hectares per year. Around 4 million hectares of rice will be maintained, producing 40 million tons of rice and about 45 million tons of subsidiary crops.

The government has worked out a target of exporting only 3.5 and 4 million tons of rice on the basis of balancing the people's demand for rice and requirements for husbandry as well as ensuring the national strategy for food security.

The master plan also puts forth an orientation to develop key industrial crops such as coffee, rubber, pepper, cashew nuts and animal husbandry, fisheries and forestry.

Looking towards 2020, the government has also set a target that annual earnings from exports of agro-forest products and seafood will reach US$17.5-18 billion. An average output value on one hectare of farmland will reach VND50 million, VND20 million more than the figure in the 2006-2010 period. Per-capita income in rural areas will be US$1,000 per year. Agricultural production will be changed toward a higher ratio of stockbreeding and services and less plantations.

VNA