Illustrative image (Photo: congthuong.vn) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Vietnamneeds policies to promote mechanical engineering in agriculture toincrease added value and quality for the farming sector, experts have said.
According to the Ministry ofIndustry and Trade, agricultural mechanisation still had very low levels ofadoption in Vietnam with an average of 1.6 horsepower (HP) per hectare, muchlower than 4HP per hectare of Thailand, 8HP of China and 10HP of the Republicof Korea,
Vietnam must now import about70 percent of its agricultural machinery, mainly from China.Domestically-produced agricultural machines cost 15-20 percent more thanthose imported from China.
Phan Tan Ben, Director of PhanTan Agricultural Machinery Company Limited, said the local agriculturalmachinery industry was outdated and was about to come to a dead-end compared tothe rapid development of other regional countries.
Agriculture mechanisation wastaking place but the machinery was mostly imported while domestically-producedmachines were losing their position in the market, Ben said.
The main reason for thissituation was that Vietnam had not developed spearheads in mechanicalengineering and agricultural mechanism in particular, lacking strategiesfor the industry's development.
He added there was also a lackof resources for investment in the industry, outdated technologies and ashortage of raw materials. In addition, competition from importedmachines from China, Japan and the Republic of Korea was also an issue, hesaid.
According to Nguyen Chi Sang, ViceChairman of the Vietnam Association of Mechanical Enterprises, market demandfor each type of agricultural machine remained small, which would notensure an economy of scale.
Another factor was thatmechanical projects required very huge investment, Sang said, adding that mostVietnamese firms lacked such huge capital while the Government’s supportremained limited. In addition, the part-supplying industry for the mechanicalindustry had not been developed.
The Ministry of Agriculture andRural Development forecast Vietnam had significant demand for agriculturalmachinery by 2025, including 500-1,000 rice planting machines per year and2,000-3,000 rice combine harvesters annually.
Demand for harvester machinesfor sugarcane, coffee, corn, been and peanuts would be three to five timeshigher.
Nguyen The Ha, Director of BuiVan Ngo Technology Institute, said that the Mekong Delta had a large demand foragricultural machinery which was estimated to amount to billions ofdollars.
According to Ben, theGovernment’s support in terms of capital, tax and land policies and humanresources was critical for the development of the agricultural machineryindustry.
The Ministry of Industry andTrade said to develop the mechanical industry, it was necessary to developpolicies to encourage large-scale agricultural production.
The Ministry of Agriculture andRural Development said it was studying a special credit package for thepurchase of agricultural machines which would accelerate agriculturalmechanisation. The package will be proposed to the Government forconsideration./.
According to the Ministry ofIndustry and Trade, agricultural mechanisation still had very low levels ofadoption in Vietnam with an average of 1.6 horsepower (HP) per hectare, muchlower than 4HP per hectare of Thailand, 8HP of China and 10HP of the Republicof Korea,
Vietnam must now import about70 percent of its agricultural machinery, mainly from China.Domestically-produced agricultural machines cost 15-20 percent more thanthose imported from China.
Phan Tan Ben, Director of PhanTan Agricultural Machinery Company Limited, said the local agriculturalmachinery industry was outdated and was about to come to a dead-end compared tothe rapid development of other regional countries.
Agriculture mechanisation wastaking place but the machinery was mostly imported while domestically-producedmachines were losing their position in the market, Ben said.
The main reason for thissituation was that Vietnam had not developed spearheads in mechanicalengineering and agricultural mechanism in particular, lacking strategiesfor the industry's development.
He added there was also a lackof resources for investment in the industry, outdated technologies and ashortage of raw materials. In addition, competition from importedmachines from China, Japan and the Republic of Korea was also an issue, hesaid.
According to Nguyen Chi Sang, ViceChairman of the Vietnam Association of Mechanical Enterprises, market demandfor each type of agricultural machine remained small, which would notensure an economy of scale.
Another factor was thatmechanical projects required very huge investment, Sang said, adding that mostVietnamese firms lacked such huge capital while the Government’s supportremained limited. In addition, the part-supplying industry for the mechanicalindustry had not been developed.
The Ministry of Agriculture andRural Development forecast Vietnam had significant demand for agriculturalmachinery by 2025, including 500-1,000 rice planting machines per year and2,000-3,000 rice combine harvesters annually.
Demand for harvester machinesfor sugarcane, coffee, corn, been and peanuts would be three to five timeshigher.
Nguyen The Ha, Director of BuiVan Ngo Technology Institute, said that the Mekong Delta had a large demand foragricultural machinery which was estimated to amount to billions ofdollars.
According to Ben, theGovernment’s support in terms of capital, tax and land policies and humanresources was critical for the development of the agricultural machineryindustry.
The Ministry of Industry andTrade said to develop the mechanical industry, it was necessary to developpolicies to encourage large-scale agricultural production.
The Ministry of Agriculture andRural Development said it was studying a special credit package for thepurchase of agricultural machines which would accelerate agriculturalmechanisation. The package will be proposed to the Government forconsideration./.
VNA
