Sweet potato farmers’ reliance on China raises concern
Print 
Some Chinese traders have been hiring land in the southern province of Vinh Long to grow sweet potatoes to export back to China, raising concern among provincial authorities.
Nguyen Van Liem, deputy head of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said three households in Thuan An Commune in Binh Minh District have rented their 60-hectare field to some Chinese trader to grow sweet potatoes.
Pham Thi Dieu, an agriculture official in Thuan An Commune, said the Chinese traders never show up but have locals or people from other localities hire land under their names.
She said Le Thi Dep, a local in Thuan An Commune, was suspected of being hired by Chinese traders to hire a 50-hectare piece of land to grow sweet potatoes.
“The expense for the 50-ha sweet potato crop could be as much as VND6.5 billion (US$325,000),” Dep said. “How could a local farmer afford such a large investment?”
Vo Van Dung, deputy head of the Thuan An Commune People’s Committee, said only 10 out of 60 ha of land rented to the Chinese have been approved by the committee.
The Chinese businessmen offer an average of VND30 million ($1,500) in payment for every hectare per year, which farmers say is much higher than what they can earn from growing rice.
“My 5,000-hectare for growing rice can give me a profit of only VND15 million ($750) a year, while renting them will give me VND25 million ($1,250),” L.V.T, a local farmer, told Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper.
High risks
Besides hiring land for farming, Chinese traders have also set up warehouses and bought sweet potatoes directly from local farmers at higher prices than the domestic market.
There are currently 14 such warehouses run by locals, which purchase more than 50 tons of sweet potatoes a day to export to China.
This trade with the Chinese is seen as good news by local farmers who are now less worried about where to sell their products.
However, local authorities are concerned about the potential risks of selling sweet potatoes solely to China.
Dieu said if China is the only export market for sweet potatoes, local farmers will be severely affected if the Chinese stop buying or demand lower prices.
In such a case, Dieu said local farmers couldn’t return to the domestic market to rescue them because Vietnamese consumers aren’t as interested in purple sweet potatoes as the Chinese.
Another concern is that Chinese traders have also been engaged in different types of illegal activities.
Sai Gon Giai Phong Newspaper recently quoted reports from the economic department of Binh Minh District as saying that sweet potatoes have been packaged up and labeled in Chinese, which violates Vietnam’s law.
The newspaper has also reported that these traders have hired more than 10 local employees without business licenses.
Nguyen Van Diep, head of the provincial People’s Committee, said local sweet potato farmers are relying too much on the Chinese market.
He thus encouraged farmers to seek other foreign markets such as Singapore, Malaysia, Laos and Cambodia.
