14:12 | 02/08/2012
VGP - The Ministry of Agriculture Rural Development and the Ministry of Industry and Trade have permitted Vietnamese companies to import 70,000 tons of sugar this year despite sufficient supply in the domestic market in order to keep up with WTO commitments.
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The country is not facing a sugar shortage. Domestic sugar plants can "absolutely meet the demand from companies.
Vietnam produced around 1.4 million tonnes of sugar in the 2011-12 crop and the inventory volume as of July 31 is 230,000 tons. Sugar consumption is estimated at between 1.3 million and 1.4 million tons.
Furthermore, he added, the new crop will start from the beginning of this September, reducing the chances further of any sugar shortage.
Domestic sugar consumption in current months has slowed down to about 60,000 tons of sugar each month compared to the normal 110,000 tonnes.
Illegal imports are mainly attributed to the slow consumption. To solve the problem, the association has called on the Government to scrap its system of setting individual sugar import quotas for companies./.
By Khanh Phuong