PPP model touted as best way to invest in Vietnam agribusiness

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) is calling for overseas capital in the agriculture sector through the public private partnership (PPP) model.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) is calling foroverseas capital in the agriculture sector through the public privatepartnership (PPP) model.

The sector, which accountedfor some 18 percent of the national GDP last year, aims to raise itsforeign direct investment (FDI) to 4.5 billion USD in 2020 and to 6billion USD by 2030.

According to the head of theministry's Department for International Cooperation, Tran Kim Long, theforeign funds pouring into agribusiness fall short of their potential inVietnam and only make up 1.35 percent of total FDI registered capitalnationwide.

This has been blamed on Vietnam’sscattered and small-scale production facilities; inadequateinfrastructure and support services; changeable policies; and overlycomplicated procedures, Long noted.

Moving forwards,Vietnamese agriculture will focus on high-quality and profitableproducts which particularly appeal to regional businesses from Japan andthe Republic of Korea, Long revealed.

MARD has workedwith the World Economic Forum (WEF) to establish a suitable PPP modelfor the sector, which has been applied already to seven groups ofproduce including coffee, tea, vegetables and aquatic products.

Experts from the WEF highly evaluated the PPP model and said it should be widely replicated.

A plan to draw FDI into the agro-fishery sector through 2030 iscurrently being designed by the ministry. Based on the plan, theGovernment will issue a related preferential policy towards foreigninvestors within the second quarter.

In 2014,agricultural exports generated 30.86 billion USD, an annual climb of11.2 percent. The sector maintained its growth at around 3 percent.

In 2017, some 500,000 households are expected to participate in PPP projects across the country.-VNA

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