Nghe An participates in discussing solutions for agricultural product consumption in the context of the Covid-19 epidemic

On the morning of May 14, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development held an online conference on “Promoting agricultural product consumption in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic” chaired by Mr. Le Quoc Doanh, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

At Nghe An bridge, comrade Hoang Nghia Hieu - Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee chaired with the participation of relevant departments, branches, and production and business units in the province.

Nghe An bridge participates in online conference on Promoting agricultural product consumption in the context of Covid-19 pandemic. Photo: Thanh Phuc

AGRICULTURAL PRODUCT CONSUMPTION SOLUTION GROUP DURING THE "EPIDEMIC SEASON"

Entering the first months of the second quarter of 2021, the Covid-19 pandemic continues to develop in a complex, unpredictable and widespread manner. The outbreak has had a profound impact on the economy in general and agriculture in particular, especially the agricultural export sector.

Nghe An's tea exports are facing difficulties due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Faced with that situation, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development directed and coordinated with localities and enterprises to proactively, creatively, and flexibly adjust production and business methods to both promote the consumption of agricultural products and ensure prevention of the Covid-19 epidemic in accordance with the Government's direction.

At the same time, actively coordinate with ministries, branches and localities to monitor and closely follow the situation of prices and circulation of goods, promptly direct the implementation of measures and plans to both boost production to ensure domestic supply of goods and promote the expansion of export markets in both traditional markets and new, potential markets.

Boosting domestic market consumption is one of the important solutions in the current context. Photo: Thanh Phuc

At the online conference, localities, industry associations and businesses met to discuss and implement solutions to promote domestic consumption and export of seasonal agricultural products in harvest season such as lychee, longan, dragon fruit, durian, watermelon, etc.

From there, promptly remove domestic difficulties, orient the implementation plan in 2021, ensure the balance of supply and demand in the agricultural market, promote consumption of agricultural products to minimize economic losses for businesses and farmers due to the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic.

Accordingly, there are 4 groups of solutions proposed, including: Adjusting agricultural production, enhancing processing, preservation, and circulation to flexibly adapt to the epidemic context; Supporting tax and credit policies for the production, processing, preservation, and export of agricultural products; Creating favorable conditions for customs clearance and logistics infrastructure. Especially promoting domestic consumption.

4 AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS OF NGHE AN FACING DIFFICULTIES

Nghia Dan watermelon is in harvest season, but output prices have dropped sharply, causing difficulties for growers. Photo: Thanh Phuc

In 2021, Nghe An determined that the Agriculture and Rural Development sector will continue to play a pivotal role in the province's economic development in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the consumption of Nghe An's agricultural products has been strongly affected.

Specifically: The province's agricultural products are mainly exported to markets such as China; the Middle East market and some European markets, Laos are all facing difficulties, some markets are closed. Market in the provinceConsumption decreased, leading to slow consumption of agricultural, forestry and fishery products and falling prices.

According to statistics, Nghe An has 4 products that are most affected: Pork, peanuts, tea, vegetables, tubers, and fruits are facing difficulties in consumption, prices are low, and farmers are suffering losses.

Local organizations join hands to rescue squash for farmers. Photo: Archive

Accordingly, Nghe An proposed to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to remove difficulties in technical barriers and provide supervision experts for businesses when exporting to foreign markets, especially to the Chinese market;

Promote domestic trade promotion activities, create conditions for Nghe An agricultural production and processing establishments to participate in agricultural product consumption activities;

Research and propose to the Government policies to support businesses and households to promote production and consumption of products in the context of the Covid-19 epidemic.