Assure output and stay ready to assist the South

Consistent supply

On August 10, Deputy Minister and Head of Working Group 3430 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien presided over a meeting with members of the group, businesses, and organizations involved in processing, fisheries, farming, and planting.

He said that agriculture is one of just a few sectors that had a trade surplus of USD 3.9 billion in the first seven months. Due to the proactive and ongoing operation of two working groups, MARD was able to implement many adaptable improvisation plans in response to the pandemic's difficult circumstances, while maintaining the objective of increasing export revenue from USD 43 to 44 billion in 2021.

The present strategy is to arrange production in 21 northern provinces and cities to satisfy the lack of food and food products in the southern provinces, which have been implementing a social distancing order since mid-July 2021.

Despite the difficult circumstances created by the Covid-19 pandemic, many businesses and cooperatives throughout the vast agricultural value chain, like Doveco, have stayed operational. According to a business spokesperson, the firm processes between 400 and 500 tons of raw materials each day, creating 150-180 tons of completed goods. Along with conventional pineapple goods, the business diversifies its final products by purchasing mangoes, Son La sweet corn, Yen Bai bamboo shoots, and Gia Lai passion fruit.

Additionally, Dabaco Group Joint Stock Company maintains enough supply. According to the company's CEO, it unloads more than 3,000 pigs each month, guaranteeing that the price of live pigs is about VND 55,000 kg.

Dabaco provides the market with 800,000 eggs each day and ensures the market's supply of cooking oil. Dabaco's experience indicates that early vaccination against Covid-19 is critical, as is implementing the "three on-site" procedure and proactively identifying hazards during the transit stage. Additionally, the business established more points of sale than it did before to the epidemic and relocated manufacturing employees.

Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien expressed his appreciation for the work of companies such as Doveco and Dabaco, stressing that these enterprises have maintained production and taken the lead in stabilizing market pricing due to their huge output. "I hope companies can be as productive as possible in the next two months," the Deputy Minister added.

Hardships

Apart from the focus on big value chains, agriculture faces several challenges. According to Nguyen Xuan Duong, a member of the Vietnam Livestock Association, the Covid-19 epidemic has had a significant impact on businesses outside the value chain. These operations are prone to manufacturing chain breakdowns and are reliant on collectors.

Nguyen Thanh Son, Chairman of the Vietnam Poultry Association, brought up the issue of breed quarantining. He proposed lowering the cost of quarantine for enterprises that have received a certificate of disease safety while also providing businesses with various alternatives for maintaining output.

For companies producing, processing, and exporting seafood, the pandemic's problems resulted in an increase in production costs, but a decrease in selling prices.

Nguyen Hoai Nam, Deputy General Secretary of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), stressed the importance of immunization to companies at the moment. According to Nam, the Ministry of Health considers the on-site workforce in aquaculture, processing, and exporting facilities to be of low importance. As a result, companies find it difficult to promote vaccination on a broad basis.

In response, the MARD head stated that the Northern provinces had a reasonably excellent record of pandemic prevention and control. As a result, both Working Group 3430 and localities have a plethora of duties.

"We are all aware that Covid-19 is having a terrible impact on the southern regions. Apart from boosting reproduction after the pandemic's containment, the agriculture sector must also compute a reserve capable of not only fulfilling northern consumption needs but also of bringing them to the South. This is a critical need, as it contributes to the regulation of supply and demand and the stabilization of pricing "Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien said.

Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien recommended that enterprises and communities take the initiative and demonstrate innovation to develop Vietnam's agriculture into the cornerstone and foundation of the economy. He added: "Indeed, big value chains are less susceptible to market and societal volatility. As a result, we must prioritize chain consolidation and expansion."

Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien requested that the agricultural production and crop protection sectors carefully monitor meteorological and weather conditions in order to provide appropriate guidance on crop and plant structure. With livestock, veterinary medicine, and fisheries, these sectors must prioritize supporting local production growth, reestablishing livestock, poultry, and aquaculture after the pandemic, implementing safe biosecurity husbandry, and creating and growing important species.