China, Kazakhstan sign cooperation deals worth over 8 bln USD
Chinese and Kazakh enterprises and financial institutions have signed at least 24 deals worth more than 8 billion U.S. dollars during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Kazakhstan, Chinese Commerce Minister Zhong Shan said Friday.
Both sides agreed to push for the progress in cooperation in energy, mining, chemical industry, mechanical manufacturing, agriculture and infrastructure, said Zhong.
China signed an agreement with Kazakhstan to supply the latter with super computer equipment, and the two countries are discussing the signing of a renewed investment protection deal, he said.
They also inked a protocol to approve the entry of Kazakhstan's frozen mutton to China.
Zhong said both sides will continue measures to facilitate bilateral trade, expand cooperation in economy and trade, customs and quality inspection, and cement the rebounding momentum in bilateral trade.
China and Kazakhstan agreed to quicken the implementation of plans to align the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative with the Kazakh "Bright Path" new economic policy.
The Belt and Road Initiative, proposed by Xi in 2013, comprises the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, with the aim of building a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient trade routes.
Kazakhstan's "Bright Path" policy is aimed at revitalizing the country's economy.
Kazakhstan is a comprehensive strategic partner of China and an important member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
Xi is currently paying a state visit to Kazakhstan.
During his trip, the two countries reached a broad range of consensuses on trade, investment, energy and financial cooperation, and achieved positive results.
Meanwhile at the Astana summit of the SCO, Xi put forward a series of economic and trade proposals.
To implement these proposals, Zhong said the Chinese Ministry of Commerce will work to advance the mechanism arrangement for regional economic cooperation.
The ministry will actively promote cooperation between small and medium-sized enterprises and local governments from SCO member countries.
China will also work for the establishment of a union of economic think tanks and strengthen capability building by promoting people-to-people exchanges.
Source: China Daily Date: 2017-06-13
Bac Giang exports lychees to China
The northern province of Bac Giang organised a trade fair to promote lychee consumption in the Pingxiang city, Guangxi province, southwestern China, on June 9.
The province expects to ship 50,000 tonnes of lychees abroad, half of the volume to China.
The locality has nearly 30,000 hectares under lychee cultivation, with a total output expected to reach 100,000 tonnes in this year, according to Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Duong Van Thai.
President of the Pingxiang city-based Wan Li Company, Lu Chunhua said thanks to the zero percent tax of the China – ASEAN free trade area and convenient distribution channel, which takes only three days to get Bac Giang’s lychees in China, his company plans to buy 500 tonnes of Vietnam’s lychees to sell in major Chinese cities like Shanghai and Guangzhou.
Close to Vietnam, Pingxiang is an important gate to bring Vietnam’s lychees to China.
Source: VNA Date: 2017-06-12
Bac Giang exports lychees to China (2)
The northern province of Bac Giang organised a trade fair to promote lychee consumption in the Pingxiang city, Guangxi province, southwestern China, on June 9.
The province expects to ship 50,000 tonnes of lychees abroad, half of the volume to China.
The locality has nearly 30,000 hectares under lychee cultivation, with a total output expected to reach 100,000 tonnes in this year, according to Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Duong Van Thai.
President of the Pingxiang city-based Wan Li Company, Lu Chunhua said thanks to the zero percent tax of the China – ASEAN free trade area and convenient distribution channel, which takes only three days to get Bac Giang’s lychees in China, his company plans to buy 500 tonnes of Vietnam’s lychees to sell in major Chinese cities like Shanghai and Guangzhou.
Close to Vietnam, Pingxiang is an important gate to bring Vietnam’s lychees to China.
Source: VNA Date: 2017-06-12
Vietnam to attend agricultural technology expo in India
Vietnamese businesses will have their first look at new global agricultural technologies and equipment at the EIMA Agrimach India expo to be held at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute in New Delhi in December.
The 2017 EIMA Agrimach India, the 5th International Exhibition & Conference on Agricultural Machineries, Equipment and Technologies, seeks to showcase the best and latest in agri-machineries besides providing an excellent opportunity for Indian and overseas players catering to the entire value chain through vertical-based national and international pavilions, according to the organisers.
Marco Acerbi, exhibitions department director of the Italian Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers Federation (FEDERUNACOMA) – one of the organisers – said the machinery displayed at the show could be adapted for both the Indian and Vietnamese markets.
Jasmeet Singh, head of agriculture at the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), said India too, like Vietnam, faced the challenge of small land holdings.
“We have huge lands but cultivable lands for farming are fragmented.”
He added FICCI was working with FEDERUNACOMA to launch all kinds of farm machinery in India and would like to do the same in Vietnam.
Source: VNA Date: 2017-06-12
Vietnam becomes largest shrimp provider in RoK
A year after the Vietnam - Republic of Korea (RoK) free trade agreement became operational, Vietnam is the largest shrimp supplier of the RoK, providing 49 percent of total shrimp imports.
In 2016, Vietnam’s shrimp exports to the RoK increased 13.6 percent compared to 2015. In the first quarter of 2017, the RoK’s shrimp imports from Vietnam, Thailand and Ecuador rose 5.3 percent, 24.7 percent and 4.1 percent respectively.
The RoK is the fifth largest market for Vietnamese shrimp after Japan, the EU, the US and China. In 2014, Vietnam surpassed China to become the number one shrimp supplier in the RoK.
After a fall of 12.2 percent in January 2017, Vietnam’s shrimp exports to the RoK grew 72 percent in February and 52 percent in March. In the first quarter of this year, Vietnam earned 61.8 million USD from the exports, up 30.8 percent over the same period last year.
According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers, Vietnam enjoys low import tax at 10 percent compared to other competitors such as China, India and Ecuador.
From April 1, 2018, a big change will affect Vietnamese shrimp exports to the RoK, as frozen shrimp imports will be required to show import certificates under adjustments in import regulations of the National Fishery Products Quality Management Service under the Ministry of Ocean Fisheries to protect the country’s aquatic ecosystem.
According to Tran Van Pham, General Director of the Stapimex company in Soc Trang, from April 1, 2018, testing of seafood samples before exporting to the RoK will be implemented in Vietnam, which means Vietnamese firms will have to pay for the costly process.
To deal with the costs, enterprises will lower the price of seafood material, which will affect farmers and the whole sector, he added.
Source: VNA Date: 2017-06-12
Vietnam’s tuna exports witness impressive growth
Vietnam’s tuna export turnover reached 216 million USD in the first five months of 2017, a year-on-year rise of 20 percent.
The strong growth was recorded in canned tuna products (35 percent) and frozen tuna (11 percent), reported the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).
Vietnam is exporting tuna to 79 countries and territories across the globe, with the US and EU being traditional major markets.
Despite the impressive growth, tuna exports are encountering some difficulties in raw materials and import duties in some key markets.
Therefore, VASEP has proposed the Directorate of Fisheries under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development develop fishing that uses purse seines.
It suggested the Directorate of Fisheries and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development work with the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) to soon reach an agreement with the EU on the specific quota for tuna exports to the market.
VASEP also requested the MoIT consider reducing tariffs on tuna exports to Japan to zero percent like Thailand and the Philippines to improve the competitiveness of Vietnamese products.
Source: VNA Date: 2017-06-08
Digital network to boost grain security
China plans to digitize the management of its grain industry by 2020 to enhance food security, as grain transportation between provinces and the amount of imported grain have been high in recent years, State authorities said.
One national management platform and 20 provincial ones will be established by the end of next year, and the whole country will be covered by a digital network by 2020, Zhang Wufeng, head of the State Administration of Grain, said on June 6 during a national video conference on grain security.
A foundation has already been laid for the national digital network. In Anhui province, for example, one provincial-level and 16 prefecture-level platforms have been established, and 100 “smart” grain depots have been connected online, he said.
He asked that more digital and information technology be used to monitor the operation of grain depots, and keep watch on safety and market management so that the warning system can be improved and hazards can be responded to more efficiently.
Grain transfers between provinces have been kept at around 170 million metric tons in the past two years, while more than 100 million tons of grain have been imported annually in the past three years, he said, noting that 85 percent of soybeans in the domestic market are imported.
“All of these have raised the need to stabilize the grain market and ensure supplies, especially emergency supplies,” he said.
While praising the development of China’s grain industry, Zhang said the industry still faces challenges, including an incomplete legal system and a shortage of supervisory officials below the State level with the necessary knowledge.
After a grain safety project was launched in 2015, 75 million tons of new grain reserves were constructed, while depots for another 120 million tons have been renovated, he said.
According to China Grain Reserve Corp, known as Sinograin, grain depots at 336 of its subsidiaries can be monitored with the help of 56,000 surveillance cameras. Its rate of reserve grain loss has decreased from 1.33 percent to less than 1 percent.
While a grain law has yet to be enacted, some of the current regulations for grain circulation and reserve, which were enacted at least a decade ago, need to be updated in line with the current situation, Zhang said.
Source: China Daily Date: 2017-06-08
Measures sought for sustainable pepper development
Measures to develop the pepper sector sustainably were discussed at a forum jointly held by the National Agricultural Extension Centre (NAEC) and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Dak Nong on June 7.
Speaking at the event, NAEC Acting Director Tran Van Khoi said that pepper is a key export staple of Vietnam. Last year, the country shipped abroad 177,000 tonnes of pepper, earning 1.42 billion USD. Vietnam’s pepper products have been exported to 95 nations and territories, accounting for 40 percent of the world’s market share.
However, Khoi noted, the sector is facing three major matters that need to be handled: a rapid increase in pepper growing areas, unsustainable cultivation with weaknesses in terms of technology and varieties, and food safety and hygiene.
According to Vice Chairman of the provincial Dak Nong People’s Committee Truong Thanh Tung, the rapid increase of pepper planting areas is resulting in negative impacts which farmers have to suffer, including diseases and a decline in pepper price.
The price of pepper currently stands at around 75,000 VND per kg, equal to only 40 percent of the figure in the same period last year.
Therefore, pepper farmers are easily facing bankruptcy or debts as they have to invest from 350-500 million VND (15,400-22,025 USD) in one hectare.
Therefore, Tung proposed ministries and centrally-run agencies closely control pepper cultivation to produce clean products with stable quality, and enhance connection between major pepper production provinces in terms of planning, production, processing to consumption.
Dr. Nguyen Nhu Hien from the Cultivation Department stressed the need for provinces to boost trade promotion, especially in major and choosy markets such as the US, EU, and Japan.
At the forum, experts shared results of several studies on preventing several diseases, as well as measures to reduce impacts of drought on pepper trees amid climate change.
Source: VNA Date: 2017-06-08
Straw recycling expo aims to cut rural air pollution
East China's Anhui Province held its first straw recycling expo Monday, with the aim of boosting the industry to help reduce air pollution caused by straw burning in rural areas.
The two-day expo was held in Hefei, the provincial capital. It covered a total floor space of 23,000 square meters, with more than 200 companies displaying new technology and products ranging from floor tiles, vegetable and egg trays to biofuel.
Anhui Shenlong is a renewable resources company that manufactures trays, tableware and flowerpots made from recycled straw.
"People are interested in our products, especially the infant spoon and bowl," said general manager Su Yali.
"Products made from straw are biodegradable, do not pollute soil and water, and are safe for consumers," Su said.
Chinese farmers traditionally burn straw after the harvest and plough the ashes into the ground, as they believe this fertilizes farmland. However, the smoke causes air pollution.
As a major producer of rice, wheat and corn, Anhui also produces around 48 million tonnes of waste straw every year. Over the last 20 years the province has increased efforts to recycle straw through using it as livestock feed and biofuel for power plants. It has also set up an environmental protection fund worth 1 billion yuan (around 150 million U.S. dollars) to promote straw recycling.
"In 2015, 81.5 percent of the province's waste straw was recycled. The figure is expected to exceed 90 percent by 2020, accounting for more than 43 million tonnes of straw," said Deng Xiangyang, vice governor of Anhui.
At the expo, companies are expected to sign agreements worth 12.2 billion yuan, which will involve the recycling of around 5 million tonnes of straw annually.
Source: China Daily Date: 2017-06-07
Vietnam’s five-month tea export sees strong growth
Vietnam exported 48,000 tonnes of tea in the first five months of this year, raking in 73 million USD, representing year-on-year increases of 14.3 percent in volume and 12.4 percent in value.
In May alone, export volume was estimated at 10,000 tonnes with turnover of 17 million USD, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
However, the tea price for export in the last five months decreased 3.8 percent compared to the same period last year, to 1,452 USD per tonne on average.
India was the top consumption market of Vietnamese tea in the period, with export volume to the market increasing 11.6 times year-on-year.
It was followed by Poland, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Taiwan (China) and Russia, with respective rises of 93.6 percent, 77.5 percent, 44.3 percent and 17.5 percent.
However, exports to Pakistan, the biggest market of Vietnam’s tea with 25.5 percent of the market share, decreased by 1.4 percent in volume and 6.3 percent in value compared to the same period last year.
The Vietnam Tea Association (VITAS) predicted that the country’s export volume in 2017 will increase by about 10 percent from 2016.
Vietnam exports tea to 110 countries and territories worldwide, with the Vietnamese tea brand registered for protection in 70 countries and regions.
Vietnam’s key tea export markets are Afghanistan, Indonesia, Russia, Pakistan, Taiwan (China), the US, China, the UK and the UAE.
Vietnam mainly exports black tea, accounting for about 78 percent of total tea exports.
According to Nguyen Huu Tai, President of the VITAS, Vietnam has great potential to expand production of “Shan Tuyet” tea, which is hoped to become a key tea product for export soon.
Vietnam is the world's seventh largest tea producer and among the top five tea exporters. However, the country ships mainly material tea and low-value tea products.
Experts said Vietnam should look to export high-value tea products instead, adding that the State needs to change management institutions to support tea producers and exporters.
Source: VNA Date: 2017-06-07