Mekong Delta enjoys preferential loans for agriculture
Credit for the agricultural
sector in the Mekong Delta region has made significant improvements, the
Vietnam Economic News reported.
According to the State Bank of
Vietnam’s Credit Department, by the end of September, total outstanding
loans of credit institutions in the Mekong Delta region reached nearly
332.6 trillion VND, an increase of 7.64 percent compared to the end of
last year, accounting for 8.98 percent of the country’s total loans.
By
mid-2010, total national outstanding loans for the agricultural sector
stood at around 315 trillion VND and half of the amount was provided for
the Mekong Delta and the Southeast Vietnam. However, by the end of
September, this figure in the Mekong Delta region increased by more than
220 trillion VND.
In the 2011-2013 period, the implementation of
Governmental Decree 41/2010/ND-CP and specific agricultural credit
programmes such as credit policy for livestock and aquaculture farming
based on Document 1149/TTg-KTTH, support policy to reduce losses in
agricultural production and lending policy for the rice sector played a
key role.
By the end of last year, most credit policies were
efficiently implemented. Data released by the Credit Department showed
that total national outstanding loans for the agricultural sector
reached nearly 672 trillion VND, a 2.3-fold increase compared to 2009,
before Decree 41 took effect.
Since the beginning of this year,
according to Governmental Resolution 14/NQ-CP on a pilot loan programme
serving agricultural development, the State Bank of Vietnam has directed
credit institutions to provide loans for many localities. To date, the
programme has provided loans for six provinces with a total capital of
about 2.72 trillion VND. Some large enterprises in the provinces of Dong
Thap, Can Tho and An Giang have asked for loans with interest rates
ranging from 7-10.5 percent per year to implement production and
processing projects.
By the end of last year, interest rates had
sharply dropped to a low level, equal to 50 percent of those rates in
2011. Since the beginning of this year, short-term lending interest
rates for the agricultural sector have reduced to 7-8 percent per
year.-VNA