Vietnam, Brazil forge cooperation in agriculture

Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam and Brazil have agreed to cooperate with each other in sugarcane, corn and soybean and coffee production, and in animal feed processing during talks between their agricultural ministers in Hanoi on September 16.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong said Vietnam has a developing husbandry industry which needs about 20 million tonnes of animal feed each year.

The sector is forecast to grow about 10 percent in the coming time, he said, noting that up to 6 million tonnes of corn, millions of tonnes of soybeans and other products are needed to meet its demand.

The minister suggested Brazil supply Vietnam with technologies and machines in animal feed production.

Brazilian Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply Blairo Maggi said Brazil ranks second worldwide in corn and soybean export, even though it uses only 8 percent of its land for agricultural production and 19.7 percent for livestock farming.

Despite the shrinking land, Brazil’s husbandry sector still achieves growth thanks to technological applications, according to the minister.

Brazil wishes to cooperate with Vietnam in this sphere, he said, adding that the transfer of technology would help boost both countries’ animal breeding sectors.

The minister also said up to 17 percent of electricity in Brazil is produced from sugarcane, and the technology is useful for Vietnam.

He noted his hope that Vietnam and Brazil, as the world’s large coffee producers, will step up their affiliation in this field to get better coffee prices.

The two ministers also agreed to share experience in agricultural production and forge ties in agricultural machinery, organic agriculture and biological diversity.-VNA