Vietnam eyes $34 bln investment in agriculture in 2030

Vietnam expects to double foreign investment in agriculture to $34 billion in 2030, according to the Agriculture and Rural Information Center (Agroinfo), but experts noted the target was too ambitious.

Vietnam's agriculture grew consistently 2.83% on average yearly between 2010 and 2020, Ta Thu Trang from the center, part of the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development - IPSARD, told a dialog hosted by the institute on Monday. Another achievement is Vietnam accounting for 12% of the global rice export, she said.

However, foreign investments played a modest role with only 1,984 projects and registered capital of $17.64 billion in 2019-2021, accounting for 5.7% and 4.3% of the total, respectively.

The investments were limited in scale, did not utilize Vietnam's comparative advantages, and focused on Hanoi and southern localities thanks to developed traffic infrastructure, according to a report presented at the event.

Other issues were foreign investments abusing certificates of Vietnamese origin, processing in simple ways without investing in high technologies, and pressuring Vietnamese businesses.

The center's $34-billion investment attraction scheme can improve the rate of projects with technology transfer to 30% and contribution of foreign-invested enterprises to agricultural exports to 30%, said Nguyen Anh Phong, head of Agroinfo.

According to the scheme, Vietnam should attract foreign investments in underdeveloped sectors or those in which it has to import products, such as high technology in making new plant varieties or animal breeding; animal feed; new-generation fertilizers; vaccine production; information technology in disease management, plant protection; industrialized animal slaughtering; and deep processing of meat, eggs, and dairy products.

Too ambitious scheme

Nguyen Anh Tuan, vice chairman of Vietnam's Association of Foreign Invested Enterprises (VAFIE), said the draft plan needs more details related to prioritized projects, areas, sectors, and development potentials.

He suggested IPSARD add herb production to the draft scheme as this sector can attract great attention from foreign investors and utilize the northern region's soil advantages.

He also recommended the center make a shortlist of hundreds of potential major businesses for investment promotion, strategic cooperation, technology transfer, and incentives.

Cao Tri Cong, vice chairman of the Vietnam Timber and Forest Production Association, proposed the draft plan should list the supporting industry for wood processing as a sector for investment promotion. He elaborated this sector has to import materials and called for more investment incentives in improving the quality of domestic materials.

The Agro Processing and Market Development Authority, under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, proposed the ministry establish a working group on attracting foreign investment to set up investment portfolios and connect associations.