Agricultural sector missing out on FDI flow (03/11)
06/08/2010 - 23 Lượt xem
In the period between January and October this year, only 42 projects worth 300 million USD out of a total of 953 FDI projects with 58.3 billion USD, were invested in this sector, which is now hungry for new capital and technology.
The sector attracted 7.4 percent and 5.3 percent of the total FDI capital in the country in 2006 and 2007, respectively.
The current situation makes the goal of 1.5 billion USD in FDI for agriculture by 2010 seem impossible to attain.
According to the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agricultural Development, the majority of investors in the sector are small and medium-sized businesses with investments of 2 million USD or less, resulting in their projects being run inefficiently.
More than half of the capital for agriculture is invested in food and farm product processing, and most of the projects are based in the Red river and Mekong river deltas, further contributing to uneven development in this sector.
Moreover, FDI sources are mainly from other Asian countries, such as Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and China; there is a dearth of investment from countries that have advantages in agricultural processes, for example the US, Canada, Australia and the EU.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said it will work to complete a number of relevant mechanisms and policies, improve rural infrastructure and simplify licence granting procedures in order to effectively promote investment.
It will also focus on regional planning and assisting local businesses in investment promotion and marketing activities, the ministry said.
Source: VNA
