A meeting was recently held in Quang Ngai province to realise a Government decree on fisheries development in the central region.

The event was attended by representatives from the central provinces of Quang Ngai, Quang Nam, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa and Da Nang city, fishing businesses, local fishermen, and a number of commercial banks, including BIDV, Agribank, Viettinbank, Vietcombank and MHB.

Speaking at the conference, Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Nguyen Van Binh stressed that Vietnam ’s fisheries sector has made great achievements over the past time, with its growing export value.

He said that Decree 67/2014/ND-CP provides a full, systematic and synchronous set of basic policies to boost fisheries development, including supporting fishermen in building high-capacity, iron-covered ships designed for offshore fishing, a practice that could earn fishermen higher incomes.

It is considered a leverage for localities to improve fishing efficiency, thus contributing to protecting the national sovereignty over seas and islands, he added.

Participants suggested the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development promptly approve and publicise a list of preferred ship models so that individuals and businesses could take out loans for the construction of new ships. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance should guide and organise the implementation of insurance policies.

The provincial People’s Committees were asked to select ship-owners based on their previous business experience and support them in applying for loans from banks.

According to the decree, commercial banks are responsible for guiding fishermen to complete loan procedures.

For those who borrow money to build ships, especially iron-covered ones, the decree regulates a preferential interest rate of 1-3 percent per year, the lowest level at present, for 11-year loans. Loan limit also stands high, about 70-95 percent of the newly-built ship value.-VNA