Drought struck Vietnam to import 100,000 tons of sugar

• Sugar factory fined $21,500 for pollution, mass fish deaths in Thanh Hoa river
• Anti-smuggling forces likely to own confiscated illegal sugar

Under the commitment made with the World Trade Organization, each year, Vietnam has to import a fixed quota of sugar from foreign countries with an on-year increase of five percent. This year, the import quota of sugar is around 85,000 tons.

However, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said that Vietnamese enterprises have faced difficulties amid the continuous rise of sugar prices, making them unable to buy enough sugar for processing activities. In addition, many traders tend to keep sugar in stock to wait for further price hikes, exacerbating the problem of sugar supply shortages.

On June 1, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc approved the plan to immediately import 100,000 tons of sugar in addition to the quota of 85,000 tons to meet sugar demands of Vietnamese enterprises.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said that each year, Vietnam produces about more than one million tons of sugar. This year, sugar output will fall by 200,000 tons due to the prolonged drought caused by El Nino while the demand for sugar grows by 100,000 tons.

Based on the above figures, the Ministry of Industry and Trade sent a proposal to the Prime Minister, asking for an additional 200,000 tons or sugar imports to push up the quota to 285,000 tons.

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> Anti-smuggling forces likely to own confiscated illegal sugar

> Sugar factory fined $21,500 for pollution, mass fish deaths in Thanh Hoa river