Vietnam's sugarcane prices among the highest in the world
The price of sugarcane purchased from Vietnamese farmers is about 50 USD per ton, nearly double that of other countries.
According to Mr. Nguyen Hai, General Secretary of the Vietnam Sugarcane and Sugarcane Association (VSSA), in the structure of sugar prices in other countries, raw sugarcane accounts for about 70%, while in Vietnam this ratio is up to 75-80%. Sugarcane grown in Vietnam is not as good as other countries (Vietnam's average CCS is about 10, while other countries' CCS is 12-16), but its price is among the highest in the world. In recent crop years, the price of sugarcane purchased by sugar factories from farmers was about 50 USD per ton, while other countries' prices fluctuated between 24-30 USD per ton.
Low productivity, low quality, and high cultivation costs are the reasons for the high price of raw sugarcane, leading to an increase in sugar production costs. In addition, sugarcane growers have small areas of cultivated land. The land in the West is lowland, while the Central, Central Highlands, and North regions are mostly hilly, making it difficult to mechanize to reduce labor costs. Regarding cultivation and fertilization techniques, farmers have not implemented them correctly and sugarcane varieties have not met the requirements for high productivity and quality.
In addition, the sugar industry has not received support from the State with appropriate policies similar to those in other countries, such as support for varieties, infrastructure for transportation, irrigation, etc. The sugar industry also needs policies to support and encourage the exploitation of by-products, such as exploiting renewable energy from bagasse to supply electricity to the national grid.
The VSSA General Secretary said that the country currently has a surplus of 646,000 tons of sugar, partly due to the rampant smuggling of cheap sugar. According to him, businesses need to reduce production costs, while farmers need to increase productivity and sugarcane quality to reduce raw material costs.
If calculated by profit per hectare, most farmers earn about 15-20 million VND per hectare within a year, others earn 20-30 million VND and very few places earn 50 million VND per hectare.
According to VSSA, in the last crop, sugar factories protected sugarcane prices for farmers even though the sugar price in the 2012-2013 crop was very low. Sugarcane is an agricultural crop that sugar factories guarantee 100% consumption, so farmers still maintain this crop. "If the sugar price continues to fall in the 2013-2014 crop, sugarcane prices certainly cannot be maintained as in previous crops," said Mr. Hai.
- The domestic consumption price of white sugar is about 14,200-15,400 VND per kg (October 14, 2013, wholesale price with VAT), depending on the locality and sugar quality. According to VSSA, this type of sugar is currently consumed slowly, if sold at a lower price, factories will suffer losses. - The price of smuggled sugar is lower than the domestic price to dominate the market, about 13,100-14,300 VND per kg (October 14, 2013) depending on the location. - The current world trade price is about 500 USD per ton (transaction price on October 10, 2013, delivery in December 2013 according to the London market). |
According to VnExpress - TH
