The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) is drafting a package of measures to eliminate the volatility in agricultural prices and enable farmers to get reasonable profits, a ministry official said.

Le Xuan Xuan, director of the Department of Agro-Forestry Product Processing and Salt Industry, said farmers often suffer great losses because of the unpredictability in price movements.

The ministry is considering a new mechanism that would enable farmers to easily sell their produce at fair prices and stabilise their livelihoods, he said.

It is also mulling changes to tax policies to encourage enterprises to buy agricultural products for processing, he said.

The scheme, due to be submitted to the Government for consideration at the end of this month, would give top priority to seven items — rice, tea, coffee, rubber, cashew, and shrimp and fish — he said.

Many people in the industry say it is in line with the country’s WTO commitments which allow the use of 10 per cent of the value of agricultural output to support development activities in the sector.

The country only uses 3 per cent now.

Battling the downturn

To overcome the problems caused by the global agricultural downturn before the new plan takes effect, agro-produce processors and exporters should take advantage of all opportunities, analysts said.

MARD deputy minister Luong Le Phuong said they should ensure their products meet buyers’ requirements.

He also urged them to strictly control quality and deliver produces in time, modernise their technologies and equipment, improve designs, and change selling strategies to meet the increasing requirements.

The ministry would improve control-control efforts and crack down on fraudulent practices that affect the image of the country’s exports, he said. It would strengthen technical capabilities to manage the quality of farm produce, he said.

An expert from the Institute for Policies and Strategies for Agriculture and Rural Development said enterprises are grappling with the question of how to sell agricultural produce.

Farmers and processors should focus improving quality to hold on existing markets and intensify promotional activities to get into new markets.