World Grain - October 2014 - 22

COUNTRY FOCUS

Key Facts

Focus on Vietnam
Increased wealth and foreign
influences bring changes in diet
by Chris Lyddon

Vietnam is traditionally a big rice producer and consumer, but
the diet of Vietnamese people has changed in recent years to include more wheat-based products, all based on imported grain.
Vietnam is one of the world's most important rice producers.
The International Grains Council (IGC) has projected its production for 2014-15 at 28 million tonnes, up from its forecast of
27.8 million for 2013-14.
It's also a major exporter, with a forecast 6.7 million tonnes set
to leave the country in 2015, up from 6.4 million the year before.
China is a major customer for Vietnam's rice exports, but there
have been problems. "On Aug. 11, 2014 authorities banned crossborder rice imports from Vietnam, in an attempt to curb the evasion of customs tax payments," the IGC reported.
Vietnam does not produce wheat, but its maize crop is forecast
at 4.9 million tonnes in 2014-15, compared with 5.2 million the
year before.
The IGC put its total grains imports at 5.4 million tonnes in
2014-15, down from 5.7 million in the previous year. The ﬁgure
includes imports of 1.9 million tonnes of wheat, up from 1.6 million in 2013-14.
CHINA

RICE, MAIZE DOMINATE
The USDA attaché's annual report on the
grains sector notes the dominance of wheat
and maize (corn). "While rice is used mostly
for food and export, corn mainly satisﬁes the
local feed industry," it said. "Corn is also imported to fulﬁll the gap between local supply
and demand."
"More than 10 years ago, Vietnam was a
seasonal corn exporter and importer," the report said. "This has been halted recently due
to local high demand from the feed industry.
"Feed wheat's share of total feed consumption was
historically 15% to 20%, mainly used for aquaculture
feed, both as an ingredient and a binding. Feed wheat,
however, has recently been an alternative source for other animal
feeds as well - in lieu of corn, cassava, and broken rice - based
on its price competitiveness."
The attaché explained that Australian wheat has duty-free acCHINA

LAOS

THAILAND

KAMPUCHEA

VIETNAM

Capital: Hanoi (Ha Noi)
Population: 93,421,835 (July 2014 est.)
Religions: Buddhist 9.3%, Catholic 6.7%, Hoa Hao 1.5%,
Cao Dai 1.1%, Protestant 0.5%, Muslim 0.1%, none 80.8%
(1999 census).
Location: Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of
Thailand, Gulf of Tonkin, and South China Sea, as well as
China, Laos, and Cambodia.
Government: Communist state. Chief of state: President
Truong Tan Sang (since July 25, 2011); head of government:
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung (since June 27, 2006).
Economy: Vietnam is a densely-populated developing
country that has been transitioning from the rigidities
of a centrally-planned economy since 1986. Vietnamese
authorities have reaffirmed their commitment to economic
modernization in recent years. Vietnam joined the World
Trade Organization in January 2007, which has promoted
more competitive, export-driven industries. Vietnam became
an official negotiating partner in the Trans-Pacific Partnership
trade agreement in 2010. Agriculture's share of economic
output has continued to shrink from about 25% in 2000
to less than 20% in 2013, while industry's share increased
from 36% to more than 42% in the same period. Stateowned enterprises account for about 40% of GDP. Poverty
has declined significantly, and Vietnam is working to create
jobs to meet the challenge of a labor force that is growing by
more than 1 million people every year. The global recession
hurt Vietnam's export-oriented economy, with GDP in 2013
growing at 5%, the slowest rate of growth since 1999. In
2013, however, exports increased by more than 12%, yearon-year; several administrative actions brought the trade
deficit back into balance. Between 2008 and 2011, Vietnam's
managed currency, the dong, was devalued in excess of
20%, but its value remained relatively stable in 2013. Hanoi
has oscillated between promoting growth and emphasizing
macroeconomic stability in recent years. In February 2011, the
government shifted from policies aimed at achieving a high
rate of economic growth, which had stoked inflation, to those
aimed at stabilizing the economy, through tighter monetary
and fiscal control. Although Vietnam unveiled a broad, "three
pillar" economic reform program in early 2012, proposing the
restructuring of public investment, state-owned enterprises,
and the banking sector, little perceptible progress has been
made. Vietnam's economy continues to face challenges from
an undercapitalized banking sector. Non-performing loans
weigh heavily on banks and businesses.
GDP per capita: $4,000 (2013 est.); inflation: 6.8% (2013
est.); unemployment: 1.3% (2013 est.).
Currency: Dong (VND): 21,204 dong equals 1 U.S. dollar
(Sept. 23, 2014).
Exports: $128.9 billion (2013 est.): clothes, shoes, electronics,
seafood, crude oil, rice, coffee, wooden products, machinery.
Imports: $121.4 billion (2013 est.): machinery and equipment,
petroleum products, steel products, raw materials for the
clothing and shoe industries, electronics, plastics, automobiles.
Major crops/agricultural products: Rice, coffee, rubber,
tea, pepper, soybeans, cashews, sugar cane, peanuts,
bananas; poultry; fish, seafood.
Agriculture: 19.3% of GDP and 48% of the labor force.
Internet: Code: .vn; 189,553 (2012) hosts and 23.382
million (2009) users.
Source: CIA World Factbook

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