Vietnam's agricultural processing technology is at an average level compared to the world, only a few industries have relatively modern regional and world-class technology and processing equipment – this is a look. frankness of our country's agricultural experts.
Indispensable requirements
“Chorus” of agricultural products “has a good harvest – devaluation” and “rescuing agricultural products” have been repeated year by year, each agricultural product. This not only made farmers tired of struggling to find the output but also caused consumers throughout the country to question long-term solutions for post-harvest agricultural processing.
Processing and preliminary processing of fruits to keep fresh produce right after harvesting is a basic requirement for agricultural exports. Photo: Danh Lam / TTXVN
In fact, although our country has more than 7,500 industrial-scale establishments associated with exports that apply the agricultural processing industry and a number of large economic groups that have focused on investment in processing agricultural products, These figures, according to experts, are only the first step.
In addition, in terms of processing technology and product quality, in general, the technology level of processing agricultural products in Vietnam compared to the world is only average to fairly good. The majority of households and small businesses stop processing and processing for domestic consumption. Only a number of industries or products with relatively modern regional and world-class technology and processing equipment, such as cashew nut processing, rice processing, shrimp and pangasius processing, etc.
According to Mr. Pham Van Duy, Deputy Director of Department of Processing and Development (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), the market of agricultural products and agricultural product processing industry still has many shortcomings and limitations such as: not yet met. output requirements for raw materials production, increasing the value of processed agricultural products is low; old equipment lines, outdated technology, simple products, consuming a lot of raw materials and energy … The amount of vegetables and meat being processed only accounts for 5-10% of the annual output. Products such as sugarcane, rice, coffee, pepper, cashew, cassava, seafood … do not have enough processing capacity at the main season.
Meanwhile, preserving after harvest is still a weak stage. Post-harvest losses are large, depending on the field but range from 10 to 20%. Material facilities such as storage, storage and storage facilities are inadequate and unsuitable; advanced preservation technology has not been studied, transferred and applied in practice.
Regarding mechanized development, Mr. Le Duc Thinh, Director of the Department of Cooperative Economics and Rural Development, said that up to now, the average motivation for agricultural production nationwide is about 2.4 HP / ha cultivation. This level of mechanization is still low, while some countries in the region have high level of mechanization such as Thailand with 4 HP / ha, South Korea 10 HP / ha.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Tue Anh, Deputy Director of the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) affirmed, the fact shows that if there is not a strong acceleration of the proportion of processed and exported products, it will be A big loss for businesses and farmers.
Investing in processing agricultural products for export brings high added value. Photo: Vu Sinh / VNA
“This is an in-depth problem, requiring involvement, analysis of experts as well as each management or research unit. In particular, it is necessary to stick to the Prime Minister's request to summarize the implementation of the plan on restructuring and developing the agricultural sector in the past 5 years, assessing the situation and having satisfactory solutions. ”- Ms. Nguyen Thi Tue Anh emphasized.
Affirming the importance of processing agricultural products, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam emphasized whether Vietnam's agricultural products will “win” on the world market or not depends heavily on processing and post-harvest technologies. . Practical evidence, Deputy Minister Tran Thanh Nam pointed out that, thanks to processing industry growth and strong development, in recent years Vietnam continues to maintain 10 commodity groups with annual export turnover from 1 billion USD or more, including 6 items with a turnover of over 3 billion USD, the export turnover in 2018 reaching over 40 billion USD, up 9.6% compared to 2017.
Looking for breakthrough opportunities
“Processing of agricultural, forestry and fishery products of the whole country has prospered, contributing to the development of agricultural production, economic and social stability” is an assessment of the Department of Agricultural Product Processing and Market Development (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development). Regarding the processing of agricultural, forestry and aquatic products in our country over the past time. According to the agency's statistics, in the period of 2013 – 2018, the agricultural product processing industry of the whole country had a strong development on both the scale and modern level compared to the previous 5 years (period 2007 – 2012). , the annual growth rate of added value is about 5-7%. Thanks to the strong growth of agricultural product processing industry, the export of agricultural products has increased by about 8-10% per year on average over the past two years.
From the situation, advantages, difficulties and challenges, especially challenges from climate change and economic integration, Vietnam's agricultural sector aims to strive to 2030, the agricultural product processing industry has enough Processing capacity ensures output for agricultural production. In particular, processing technology reaches advanced technology level from above average, among the top 3 countries in ASEAN region, some leading industries in the world. Post-processed products must meet the requirements of the consumer market, be highly competitive, ensure food quality and safety, and contribute to rapidly increasing added value and export turnover.
Vietnam's agriculture sector aims to have a processing capacity of agricultural product processing industry by 2030, ensuring output for agricultural production. Photo: Vu Sinh / VNA
The goal is to reach over 30% of agricultural processing industry in 2030. The speed of value of processed agricultural goods reaches 7-8% / year. More than 50% of processing facilities for key export agricultural products will reach the level of advanced production technology. The labor productivity rate reaches over 7% / year. The level of mechanization in agricultural production reaches from 90 – 100%. The average equipment capacity of the whole country will reach 4 – 5.5HP / ha.
This is considered a positive target because the data published by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shows that, from 2018 to date, there are 30 major investment projects in processing agricultural products that have been operated and deployed across the country with a total of invested capital of VND 20,000 billion. In which, in the first 6 months of 2019, the whole country had 11 major investment projects in processing agricultural products with a total investment of over 11,415 billion dong, which was started, inaugurated and put into operation.
Regarding mechanisms and policies, localities need to effectively implement the policies to encourage investment in processing and preserving agricultural products issued, for example: Decree 57/2018 / ND-CP dated April 17, 2018 of the Government on mechanisms and policies to encourage enterprises to invest in agriculture and rural areas; Decision No. 68/2013 / QD-TTg dated 14/11/2013 of the Prime Minister on supporting policies to reduce losses in agriculture …
MARD will also focus on implementing tasks and solutions to restructure the processing industry, preserve and reduce post-harvest losses; at the same time, continue to promote the implementation of policies to support and encourage the development of deep processing industry, refined processing and processing of instant products to increase added value.
Following this direction, also in the first 6 months, the number of newly established agro-forestry-fishery enterprises was 1,634, bringing the total number of agricultural enterprises nationwide to 10,988. In addition to the development and investment of small and medium-sized enterprises, a number of large enterprises and corporations such as Vinamilk, Nafoods, TH, Dabaco Vietnam, Masan, Lavifood, Ba Huan, East Sea … have been promoting Investing in high-tech applied agriculture promises great success in the future.
Minh Tue
Source: Newspaper News
