Vietnam's sugarcane prices are equivalent to those of other countries in the region.

The sugar industry has recorded a "revival"

Regarding the 2023/24 sugarcane production season, Mr. Nguyen Van Loc - Chairman of the Vietnam Sugarcane Association - said that the Vietnamese sugarcane industry completed the 2023/2024 sugarcane crushing season in June 2024.

The output at the end of the season was 11,204,789 tons of sugarcane, producing 1,107,777 tons of sugar of all kinds. Compared to the 2022/2023 sugarcane pressing season, the sugarcane pressing output reached 117.9% and the sugar output reached 118.4%. Compared to the 2020/2021 sugarcane pressing season, in 4 consecutive seasons, the sugarcane pressing output increased by 166% and the sugar output increased by 161%.

Farmers in Quang Phu commune (Quang Dien, Thua Thien- Hue ) take care of sugarcane. Photo: Ho Cau/VNA

This shows that since Vietnam applied trade defense measures from 2021, the Vietnamese sugar industry has recorded a significant revival and growth, with the sugarcane purchase price continuously raised by the Vietnamese sugar industry for 5 consecutive crops (an increase of 152% compared to the 2019/20 crop), currently reaching 1.2-1.3 million VND/ton of sugarcane, which is equivalent to that of sugarcane-producing countries in the region, leading to an increase in sugarcane planting area, sugarcane and sugar output increasing continuously over the last 4 production crops.

Also according to Mr. Nguyen Van Loc, in terms of sugar productivity, with the growth rate of 4 consecutive crops, for the first time the Vietnamese sugar industry has reached the sugar productivity milestone of 6.79 tons of sugar/ha. Compared with the main sugar producing countries in the region including Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines, the above achievement has for the first time put the Vietnamese sugar industry in the number 1 position in sugar productivity in the region.

There are still many difficulties.

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Loc, in the 2023/2024 crop year, the world raw sugar price reached its peak in November 2023 at 28 USD cents/lb and then continuously decreased to the current 19 USD cents/lb (down 47%). The decrease in the international sugar market price has reduced the price of smuggled sugar, negatively affecting the domestic sugar market.

While Vietnam has seriously implemented its international commitments on sugar, the lack of seriousness of its partners in the region has had a negative impact, threatening the existence of the Vietnamese sugar industry. Typical examples include Indonesia's fraudulent declaration of origin and signs of dumping sugar into the Vietnamese market; or Thailand's continued implementation of the dual-price method to export excess sugar through Cambodia and Laos....

The boom in imports of liquid corn syrup (HFCS) with an import volume of 231,000 tons to Vietnam in 2023. With a sweetness of 1.3 to 1.6 times that of sugar, it has "eaten away" the sugar market share in the beverage industry, equivalent to 300,000 tons of sugar from the Vietnamese sugar industry.

In addition, there is an explosion of sugar smuggling in the 2023/24 crop year. Many acts of smuggling sugar have been detected by authorities in almost all provinces and cities across the country. However, legal loopholes in the auction of confiscated sugar and lax control of labeling of goods and origin are being exploited by illegal traders, making the fight against smuggling sugar fraud still ineffective.

Under pressure from imported HFCS corn syrup and smuggled sugar, the sugar market is always in a state of oversupply, sugar produced from sugarcane is difficult to consume, threatening the existence of the sugarcane - sugar chain.

The price movements of Vietnamese sugar compared to neighboring countries in the 2023/24 crop year also show that Vietnamese sugar prices are always at the lowest level. Thus, in the 2023/24 crushing season, the Vietnamese sugar industry has achieved the dual goal of raising sugarcane purchase prices to a level equivalent to or higher than that of countries in the region while still keeping sugar prices at the lowest level.

Mr. Nguyen Van Loc said that in the 2024/2025 processing season, it is expected that there will be 25 sugar factories in operation, equal to the number of factories operating in the 2023/2024 season, with a total designed capacity of 124,000 tons of sugarcane/day. According to the reports of the sugar factories expected to remain in operation, the production plan for the 2024/2025 season will have growth compared to the 2023/2024 season as follows: Harvested sugarcane area will increase by 107%; Processed sugarcane output will increase by 105%; Sugar output will increase by 105%.

The 2024/2025 crop year is expected to be a challenging year for the Vietnamese sugar industry as it has to deal with the La Nina phenomenon that is expected to begin to have an impact during the crop year, rising prices of agricultural inputs, the situation of smuggled sugar and trade fraud in smuggled sugar, the situation of evasion of trade defense measures and a narrowing sugar market due to increased imports of liquid sugar and high-fructose corn syrup.

Regarding some tasks that the sugar industry needs to focus on in the coming crop year and the following years, Mr. Nguyen Van Loc said that the sugar industry needs to strengthen and develop the chain of links in sugar production. Build a healthy and harmonious sugar market. Prevent fraudulent sugar trade activities. Stabilize sugarcane raw material areas in the context of climate change. Implement a sugarcane variety selection program.

In order for the Vietnamese sugar industry to successfully organize and implement the above Directive, in the context that some international commitments have not been strictly complied with by partners, many legal regulations in sugar consumption management have not been fully complied with and the sugar production chain is often under pressure from commercial fraud, Mr. Nguyen Van Loc said that it is very necessary to have the attention and support of state agencies in establishing a fair, reasonable competitive environment and fully complying with legal regulations as well as the state's development orientation.

Source: https://congthuong.vn/gia-mia-viet-nam-da-tuong-duong-voi-cac-nuoc-trong-khu-vuc-345606.html