High irradiation cost erodes competitiveness of Vietnam fruit
High irradiation cost erodes competitiveness of Vietnam fruit
Irradiation service charges on Vietnam's fruit for export are four times higher than in Thailand, causing the competitiveness of the country’s fruit to fall.
Speaking at a seminar in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho, Dang Phuc Nguyen, general secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetables Association, said that Vietnam has only one operational irradiation facility, which is located in HCMC. The irradiation cost is high at US$0.80-US$1 per kilogram, while Thailand’s irradiation services cost a mere US$0.25 per kilogram.
Dr. Luong Ngoc Trung Lap, former head of the market research department of the Southern Fruit Research Institute, told the Saigon Times today, May 1, that in fact, the fruit irradiation cost in Vietnam was double the cost in Thailand.
Thai firms enjoy many incentives, from value-added tax to preferential export policy, Lap said, adding that Vietnamese enterprises do not have these benefits.
“As for incentives and policies offered by the Government to firms, enterprises in Thailand have more practical incentives than Vietnam’s firms do,” he said, adding that even though the Vietnamese Government has issued multiple preferential policies, funds to execute these policies remain limited and firms find it difficult to access them.
Lap attributed the lower fruit irradiation cost in Thailand to the fact that Thai authorities directly collect irradiation service charges to support firms.
However, in Vietnam, the private firm holds a monopoly in supplying irradiation services, allowing for possible increases in irradiation fees.
Due to the monopoly, fruit irradiation costs in Vietnam are high. The firm supplying the irradiation service can charge up to US$2 per kilogram, Lap pointed out.
Apart from higher irradiation charges, high transport fees, labor costs and the price of materials have dragged down the competitiveness of Vietnam’s fruit on the global market, he added.
