State to develop fertiliser plan

Fertiliser is packaged at a plant in HCM City's Cu Chi District which supplies fertilisers for agricultural production in southern provinces. Fertilisers are seen by the Government as a strategic product. — VNA/VNS Photo Hoang Hai

HA NOI — The control of fertiliser production and distribution systems, to be approved this month, is expected to benefit both farmers and businesses.

Speaking at a conference on Tuesday outlining fertiliser production development for the next 10 years, the Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade (MIT), Nguyen Hai Nam, said fertiliser was a strategic product that helped ensure national food security.

Although the Government had co-operated closely with the Viet Nam Fertiliser Association in planning fertiliser production and quality, farmers were still faced with shortages and "price fever" when demand soared before planting, said Phung Ha, head of MIT's Department of Chemicals.

Secretary of the association Nguyen Hac Thuy said there had been no clear development strategy for the fertiliser industry and that demand was unpredictable.

According to the association, farmers lose VND1.2 trillion (US$60 million) each year due to the low-quality and fake fertiliser products.

This year, the nation's demand for fertiliser is forecast to reach 9.1 million tonnes, but domestic production can satisfy only 60 per cent of this.

A report from An Giang University's Economics Faculty claims farmers have to buy fertilisers at prices 30-40 per cent higher than those offered by producers. They often have to buy low-quality products from small firms because State authorities can only supervise large fertiliser companies.

Ha said one of the reasons fertiliser prices were often unstable was that distribution systems developed spontaneously. Products came to farmers through many middlemen.

Ha said when planning was approved, fertiliser distribution systems would develop based on the establishment of agricultural economic areas, demand in each area, the characteristics of local economic activities and farmers' purchasing practices.

Under the plan, from now to 2015, fertiliser distribution centres will be set up in Lao Cai, Phu Tho, Bac Giang, Hai Duong, Ninh Binh, Nghe An, Da Nang, Binh Dinh, Dac Lac, Lam Dong, Long An, An Giang, Can Tho and Kien Giang.

Phan Dinh Duc, general director of PetroVietnam Fertiliser and Chemicals Joint Stock Company, suggested that small-scale producers who did not have the financial capacity to build their own distribution systems could join those of larger companies.

Ha said to make planning more efficient, State agencies should change their ways of management. He added that producers must be granted certificates setting out conditions for business required by the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Otherwise they should not be allowed to trade.

He said this would help weed out small-scale companies using old technology and those producing low-quality fertiliser.

Head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development's Planting Department Nguyen Tri Ngoc said management of fertiliser distribution systems should be placed in the hands of one authority to prevent overlapping among ministries and agencies.

Tri added that production standards should be completed to enable management of the industry to be tightened. — VNS

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Business confidence index rises

Manufacturing super light bags for pupils in Ladoda Production Service Trading Leather Products Co. — VNA/VNS photo Tran Viet

HA NOI — The business confidence index (BCI) rebounded in the third quarter this year after it increased three points over the second quarter and 37 points against the same period in 2008.

"This survey attracted the participation of 262 companies from 11 primary sectors and industries in Viet Nam," said a representative from WVB FISL. "More than 70 per cent of the companies are small- and medium-sized enterprises."

With respect to current economic conditions, about 70 per cent of the participants thought overall economic conditions had improved compared to one year ago. About 25 per cent of the participants agreed that there was no change with the current economic conditions, and 4.2 per cent said that current economy conditions had not improved.

About 84.35 per cent of the participants said they believed the economy would continue to improve and 15.65 per cent said they believed there would be no change.

Optimistically, about 72 per cent of the individuals questioned said they believed their enterprises' profits would likely increase during the next 12 months.

As many as 60 per cent of the participants said they expected their employment and investments in fixed assets to increase.

During the last quarter, the number of businesses that were concerned about their revenues and profits was up 0.06 per cent and 1.96 per cent, respectively.

The survey also showed that many domestic businesses were still concerned about inflation and fluctuations in the exchange rate between the US dollar and Vietnamese dong.

Most participants surveyed said they believed foreign investors would focus on four major areas including real estate, consumer product manufacturing, information technology, and mining.

Nearly 20 per cent of them believed that foreign investors would pour money into the information and technology sectors, while 31.27 per cent said the real estate sector would receive more investments.

The survey also found that many businesses believe that the tourism, footwear, garment and pharmaceutical sectors will continue to gain momentum and receive increased investments in the future.

The quarterly survey was conducted by the Viet Nam World Vest Base Financial Intelligence Services (WVB FISL) and PetroVietnam Finance Investment and Consultancy Company (PVFC Invest). — VNS

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Air travel surges 20% in 9 months

HA NOI — The aviation market in the first nine months saw a year-on-year increase of more than 20 per cent in the number of air travel passengers, estimated the Civil Aviation Administration of Viet Nam.

The administration estimated that roughly 15 million passengers went through the country's airports in the first nine months of this year, of which Vietnam Airlines, Jetstar Pacific and Viet Nam Air Service Co (Vasco) accounted for more than 11 million.

In the first nine months, the administration also estimated that roughly 340,000 tonnes of goods were transported via air, an increase of 36 per cent over the same period last year.

Industry insiders forecast the country's aviation market in the last quarter would continue to surge due to an increased number of flights licensed by the aviation authorities for foreign airlines including Turkish Airlines, Poland's LOT and Qatar Airways.

Vo Huy Cuong, director of the administration's Air Transport Department, attributed the steady growth to the continuing strong expansion of the domestic segment backed by flagship carrier Vietnam Airlines.

Cuong said that Vietnam Airlines and its subsidiary Vasco still accounted for the lion's share of around 80 per cent of the domestic market while the rest was covered by Jetstar Pacific.

With the introduction of Air Mekong and Blue Sky Air recently, which lifts the number of operational airlines in the country to nine, it was expected that the competition in the domestic aviation market would increase.

The administration expected that the country's overall aviation market would grow roughly 20 per cent in 2010, higher than the 14 per cent figure it had projected earlier this year, thanks to more domestic services and a significant increase in the number of international visitors.

The administration's statistics showed that roughly 26.2 million passengers and 445,800 tonnes of cargo were transported by air last year, four times higher than in 2000. — VNS

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Enterpirses urge fertiliser development strategy

Fertiliser prices have increased following the appreciation of the US dollar against the Vietnamese dong as well as higher prices on the global market

There has been no clear development strategy for the fertiliser industry and that demand is unpredictable, has said the industry association.

 The control of fertiliser production and distribution systems, to be approved this month, is expected to benefit both farmers and businesses.

At a recent conference outlining fertiliser production development for the next 10 years, the Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade (MIT), Nguyen Hai Nam , said fertiliser is a strategic product that helps ensure national food security.

Although the Government has cooperated closely with the Vietnam Fertiliser Association in planning fertiliser production and quality, farmers are still faced with shortages and "price fever" when demand soars before planting, said Phung Ha, head of MIT's Department of Chemicals.

Secretary of the association Nguyen Hac Thuy said there has been no clear development strategy for the fertiliser industry and that demand is unpredictable.

According to the association, farmers lose VND1.2 trillion (US$60 million) each year due to the low-quality and fake fertiliser products.

This year, the nation's demand for fertiliser is forecast to reach 9.1 million tonnes, but domestic production can satisfy only 60 percent of this.

A report from An Giang University's Economics Faculty claims farmers have to buy fertilisers at prices 30-40 percent higher than those offered by producers. They often have to buy low-quality products from small firms because State authorities can only supervise large fertiliser companies.

Ha said one of the reasons fertiliser prices are often unstable was that distribution systems develop spontaneously. Products come to farmers through many middlemen.

Ha said when planning is approved, fertiliser distribution systems will develop based on the establishment of agricultural economic areas, demand in each area, the characteristics of local economic activities and farmers' purchasing practices.

Under the plan, from now to 2015, fertiliser distribution centres will be set up in Lao Cai, Phu Tho, Bac Giang, Hai Duong, Ninh Binh, Nghe An, Da Nang, Binh Dinh, Dac Lac, Lam Dong, Long An, An Giang, Can Tho and Kien Giang.

Ha said to make planning more efficient, State agencies should change their ways of management.

 He added that producers must be granted certificates setting out conditions for business required by the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Otherwise they should not be allowed to trade.

He said this would help weed out small-scale companies using old technology and those producing low-quality fertiliser.

 

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Aviation business sees 20 percent rise

Photo: AFP

Industry insiders forecast the country's aviation market in the last quarter will continue to surge due to an increased number of flights licensed by the aviation authorities for foreign airlines including Turkish Airlines, Poland 's LOT and Qatar Airways.

The aviation market in the first nine months saw a year-on-year increase of more than 20 percent in the number of passengers, estimated the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam.

The administration estimated that roughly 15 million passengers went through the country's airports in the first nine months of this year, of which Vietnam Airlines, Jetstar Pacific and Vietnam Air Service Co (Vasco) accounted for more than 11 million.

In the first nine months, the administration also estimated that roughly 340,000 tonnes of goods were transported via air, an increase of 36 percent over the same period last year.

Vo Huy Cuong, director of the administration's Air Transport Department, attributed the steady growth to the continuing strong expansion of the domestic segment backed by flagship carrier Vietnam Airlines.

Cuong said that Vietnam Airlines and its subsidiary Vasco still account for the lion's share of around 80 percent of the domestic market while the rest is covered by Jetstar Pacific.

With the introduction of Air Mekong and Blue Sky Air recently, which lifts the number of operational airlines in the country to nine, it is expected that the competition in the domestic aviation market will increase.

The administration expects that the country's overall aviation market will grow roughly 20 percent in 2010, higher than the 14 percent figure it projected earlier this year, thanks to more domestic services and a significant increase in the number of international visitors.

The administration's statistics showed that roughly 26.2 million passengers and 445,800 tonnes of cargo were transported by air last year, four times higher than in 2000.

Vietnam Airlines has recenty launched online check-in, reducing he pressure at airports at peak times.

The carrier has launched its web check-in service for international flights enabling passengers flying out of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Vientiane in Laos, Phnom Penh and Siem Reap in Cambodia, Seoul and Pusan in South Korea, and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia to check in online.

The service will be available from 20 to four hours before departure.

Passengers have to print their boarding pass on A4-sized paper to complete the check-in and be present at the counter at least 45 minutes before the flight’s departure.

But passengers who want to check in luggage, have requested for special services, or have discount tickets cannot avail this service.

The carrier launched a web check-in service on domestic routes in August last year for travel from Hanoi, Da Nang, and HCMC.

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Steel trade decreases on global market

Industry insiders have reported the local steel sales dropped 41 percent in September thanks to the world market.

"September's decline was not expected. We forecast that the price of steel ingots would go through the US$600 per tonne mark but instead it dropped to US$580," said the Vietnam Steel Association's Deputy Chairman Nguyen Tien Nghi.

Steel sales in September surprised experts by dropping 41 percent over August to 283,000 tonnes.

Nghi added that due to the low price of pig iron on the world market, Vietnamese consumers are still waiting for further reductions.

Because of this, the decline has continued into the first few days of this month.

Meanwhile, he added, traders have been selling off their steel stocks.

Due to the situation, many companies and agencies have cut prices by roughly VND300,000 ($15) per tonne to stimulate the market.

According to a report by the association, the price, excluding value-added tax, is now standing at about VND13.6 million (US$697 ) per tonne.

The association said the situation would steady itself in the second half of October, as the rainy season ends and demand for construction steel picks up.

"In addition, when steel stocks are sold out, traders will be forced to renew their supplies and consumption will increase," Nghi said.

He added that demand on the world market is also increasing which would help push the price back up.

Talking about sales for the whole year, Nghi optimistically said that they would increase by 15 percent over last year.

"Because of high consumption in previous months, the dip in September will not affect sales for the whole year," he explained.

Last year, the country consumed nearly 4.2 million tonnes of steel.

Worldwide steel production may plateau over the next five years as a result of environmental pressures and smaller demand increases.

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Southern metro set to welcome 3.3 million visitors

In the first nine months of 2010, the number of international arrivals to Ho Chi Minh City reached 2.2 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 13 percent.

The city expects to receive at least 3.3 million foreign visitors in 2011, earning VND48 trillion (US$2.4 billion), according to the municipal Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

At this growth rate, the southern economic hub hopes to welcome the 3 millionth visitor in mid-December this year.

HCMC targets 2.8 million foreign tourists this year but the real figure may exceed 3 million.

The city’s tourism sector accounts for 60 percent of international arrivals to Vietnam , 45 percent of the country’s tourism revenues and 5.5 percent of its GDP.

Vietnam has organised tourism promotion programmes and cultural exchanges in China, Japan, the RoK and Cambodia in addition to roadshows in Australia , Norway and West European countries, they added.

The nation has targeted 4.5-4.6 million foreign tourists this year, a year-on-year increase of more than 17 percent.

Travel agencies will continue with tourism promotion and sales discount programmes in August and September in a number of key tourism cities and provinces.

Hanoi plans to organise tours to a number of ancient Vietnamese capitals, museums and homestays to attract more tourists to the city.

The Vietnamese tourism authority said it expected about 1 million Chinese holidaymakers to visit the country this year, double last year's number.

VNAT attributed the rise to a series of promotional campaigns run in major Chinese cities over the last two years.

the number of Chinese holidaymakers visiting the south of the country was rising by 25 percent annually.

Travel firms have also reported significant growth in visitor numbers from China. Lien Bang Travelink said the number of tourists using the company's services had increased by 30 percent since the beginning of the year compared to the same period in 2009.

However Vietnam could not compete with regional countries such as Bangkok or Singapore in terms of shopping malls or medical facilities.

 

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