Lao agro firms raise challenges
Lao agro firms raise challenges
Lao agribusiness representatives have held talks with officials of the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LNCCI) to try to find solutions to various challenges and barriers.Companies from different fields are also looking to the 2020 Lao Business Forum (LBF), to be held in the near future, as a golden opportunity to use the business platform to inform the government about the problems they face.
Friday’s consultation meeting, which was chaired by the LNCCI’s General Secretary, Mr Phouxay Thepphavong, discussed the problems faced by businesses in the agriculture sector in the run up to the Lao Business Forum.
Mr Phouxay informed business operators about the achievements of a recent LBF meeting and called on firms representing the agriculture sector to specify the challenges they face in their operations.
Participants spent almost an hour explaining their problems, which will be summarised by the LBF Secretariat so they can be presented to government leaders at this year’s business forum.
Over the past few years, industry representatives have said the unresolved issues include the burdensome amount of paperwork required to import raw materials and export finished goods.
The government is working with the ministries involved to improve the business environment in Laos and to seek solutions to unresolved issues and remove unnecessary barriers.
Most of the people living in rural areas are dependent on agriculture for their food and income, and the number of people working in agriculture across the country is high. Agribusinesses also contribute to economic growth year-on-year.
The government has made the development of agriculture a key priority to fulfil the Socio-Economic Development Strategy 2025 and Vision 2030.
In 2018, Laos’ biggest export crop was bananas, worth US$209 million and accounting for 30 percent of all agricultural exports.
This was followed by coffee exports worth US$70 million and dried cassava worth US$24 million, according to a report from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
