A woman shops for sugar at supermarket. — Photo nld.com.vn The tax on imported sugar, as stipulated by the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA), will be maintained at 5 per cent from the beginning of this year, instead of zero per cent as previously rumoured. This was announced in Decree 156/2017/ND-CP, stipulating Viet Nam’s special preferential import taxes in ATIGA for the 2018-22 period. According to the Viet Nam Sugar and Sugarcane Association (VSSA), this was a good sign for the local sugar industry, as they would face difficulties if the tax was lowered to zero per cent. The association said that the price of shares of some sugar companies in 2017 were continuously falling, mainly because producers were afraid of competition from sugar importers if the zero per cent tax had been actually imposed on imported sugar. VSSA’s figures indicated that the wholesale price of sugar last month was VND12,700-14,000 per kilo, a decline of VND200-300 per kilo over the previous month. By maintaining the 5 per cent import tax under ATIGA, together with abundant sugar supplies and lower selling prices, local businesses would not import sugar from other countries. By the end of last year, sugar inventories were some 240,000 tonnes. VSSA said the sugar supply would meet the country’s demand in the first month of 2018, even with increased sales during the upcoming Tet (Lunar New Year) Holiday. Sugarcane is cultivated on more than 300,000ha across the country, employing 330,000 households, or 1.5 million farmers, and… [Read full story]
The Finance Ministry will cut import duties on sugar to 15 percent, in April, in order to ensure sufficient supply for the local market. The current tariff on refined sugar is 40 percent while raw sugar is subject to a 25 percent tax. According to the Finance Ministry, the tax cut will help keep domestic prices stable. Since the Tet holiday sugar has sold for as much as VND24,000 per kilogram. The price offered under the state price stabilization program is only VND18,000 per kilogram. The Ministry of Industry has set import quotas at 250,000 tons of both raw and…... [read more]
Under the Vietnamese Government's instruction, the Ministry of Trade recently announced its decision on sugar imports in 2006. Accordingly the ministry will grant 30% of imported sugar to local sugar factories for refinery while another 30% of sugar quotas will be allocated to import companies for production and 30% to sugar trading companies. The Ministry also stated in the decision that it would reserve 10% of the imported sugar to stabilize the market when necessary. The cane sugar most needed for import is Category 1701 of the current preferential tariff. Enterprises that import Category 1701 for export production do not…... [read more]
The Ministry of Trade has decided to license seven large enterprises to import various grades of sugar shortly despite the proposal raised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for the removal of granting quotas and licenses for sugar imports. The selected enterprises consist of one firm in Hanoi, two in Ho Chi Minh City, one in Haiphong, one in Danang, one under Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and one under the Ministry of Trade (MoT) itself. Under the decision, the ministry is to allocate 30 per cent of imported sugar to traders to sell in the domestic…... [read more]
VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam is striving to reduce the trade deficit to 14 percent by 2015 and to obtain the payment balance in a few years. However, this proves to be a very difficult task, for many reasons. It is understandable that trade deficit is unavoidable for developing economies like Vietnam. However, if Vietnam has to import products, it should be selective and import technology. It should choose to import products at best prices with most favourable commercial conditions. Vietnam is now striving to reduce the trade deficit to 14 percent by 2015 and to reach the payment balance in…... [read more]
The group has invested heavily in sugar production in Laos. — File Photo HA NOI (VNS) — The Government has made a nonspecific agreement allowing the Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group (HAGL) to import 50,000 tonnes of sugar from Laos at a tax rate of 2.5 per cent. The group has invested heavily in sugar production in Laos. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Industry and Trade agreed to the quota and submitted a proposal to PM Nguyen Tan Dung for approval. Earlier, the HAGL Group filed a petition to allow it to import crude…... [read more]
