Lauching Working Group to facilitate the connection of the North's agricultural supply and demands

Exporting to China is difficult

On July 29, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development convened a conference to address challenges in the consumption of agricultural goods in Northern provinces and cities.

According to Deputy Minister of MARD Phung Duc Tien, the agricultural sector is experiencing unprecedented suffering in the stages of production, consumption, and circulation as a result of the effect of Covid-19.

Tien highlighted that the number one priority at the moment is safeguarding people's health since, without it, we would be unable to go on with the second objective of production organization.

Consumption and production in the northern provinces are now confronted with a slew of issues that must be resolved, most notably the circulation stage.

Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien said that if the current situation continues, agricultural production chains would be disrupted.

“The most significant issue is that agricultural products are difficult to transport. Stagnation in agricultural harvest goods will delay the production cycle. However, many areas are now capable of harvesting but unable to consume their goods," MARD's head addressed the problem.

According to Nguyen Thu Thu Huong, Deputy Director of the Plant Protection Department, China is the primary market for northern Vietnam. However, Covid-19 has halted agricultural and manufactured commodities shipments to China.

“Specifically, the number of products shipped to China dropped by 30% at Lao Cai's border gates compared to ten days earlier. This week, five positive cases of SARS-CoV-2 were detected at the Tan Thanh border gate (Lang Son). As a result, controls have been strengthened and the pace of goods clearance has been slowed significantly”, said Nguyen Thi Thu Huong.

According to Nguyen Quoc Toan, Director of the Department of Agricultural Products Processing and Development, agricultural raw materials and supplies are a heated topic in both the South and the North owing to a lack of uniformity in inspection and control. This is also one of the reasons why raw material costs continue to rise, making an already tough manufacturing scenario even more onerous.

Establishment of a working group to link the production and demand of agricultural goods in the north

As a result of these problems, MARD decided to establish a Working Group to direct production, link supply and demand for agricultural goods in the northern regions during the Covid-19 epidemic.

The team will be led by Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien, with the Department of Agricultural Product Processing and Market Development serving as the focal point.

As such, the Working Group helps the Minister in directing the production, connecting supply and demand for agricultural goods under the Ministry's control.

Specifically, the organization will cooperate with provinces and towns to boost agricultural output and harvesting, thus ensuring agricultural demand in communities that adopt social distance to avoid and manage the Covid-19 epidemic.

The working group is responsible for directing local Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development to review seasonal production plans to ensure they are consistent with the plan for agricultural product consumption and to develop plans and plans for agricultural product consumption promptly in response to the pandemic.

Additionally, the working group must cooperate with ministries, branches, and local governments to guide the execution of solutions that boost the production and consumption of agricultural goods necessary to meet the basic requirements of communities within the Covid-19 epicenter. Conduct research and provide recommendations to responsible authorities on how to resolve issues that are outside their scope of expertise.

According to Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien, the working group may work remotely or directly with provinces to promote agricultural product production, consumption, and export.

According to Nguyen Quoc Toan, one of the Working Group's primary responsibilities is to analyze and assess to guarantee the agriculture sector's GDP growth goal is met. throughout the year-end period.

He highlighted a lesson gained throughout the process of deconstructing agricultural product supply and consumption in the South: it is essential to create a buffer zone to develop transit hubs for agricultural products and commodities.

According to Nguyen Nhu Cuong, Director of the Department of Crop Production, the Northern Working Group should learn from the Southern Working Group's experience in evaluating local supply and demand, defining how much self-sufficiency can provinces achieve and what further assistance is.