VietNamNet Bridge - The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) sold watermelon in front of its office in Hanoi, while the Ministry of Transport (MOT) requested its officials to drink milk instead of beer.The watchdog agencies made the effort to ease the difficulties Vietnamese farmers are facing.

Local newspapers some days ago reported that unsold watermelon was being thrown away by farmers, while fresh milk was turned down by dairy producers. 

While some people applauded the ministry’s actions, analysts commented that odd actions which only happen in Vietnam will not help settle big problems existing in the farm produce market.

Nguyen Van Nam, former head of the Trade Research Institute, noted that MOIT cannot act as the watermelon seller forever, while MOT will not be able to drink all the milk to be produced by farmers.

He said what farmers need is a reasonable long-term development strategy which will help them find stable markets for their farm produce. They don’t want MOIT to trade watermelon and MOT to continue drinking unsold milk.

Commenting about the MOT’s plan to drink milk instead of beer, Nam said this was a “romantic idea”.

“Vietnamese should be advised to drink milk because dairy products are good for their health, not because milk has not sold,” he said.

Nam, who harshly criticized the ministries’ moves, said the ministries did this just to try to polish their image, while they did not take action for farmers’ benefits.

“Selling watermelon is not a function of MOIT. Its function is organizing a closed supply chain, from production to consumption,” he said.

“The unsold farm produce shows the incapability of the state management agencies in finding stable markets for farm produce,” he maintained.

An economist commented that the sale of farm produce depends on the “kindness” of consumers and ministries. In late 2014, netizens reported the lack of sales for tomatoes on the internet and called on people to buy tomatoes, or farmers would have to throw tomatoes away.

Later, they called for public help to buy watermelon from farmers in the central region. 

Will MOIT buy litchis and dragon fruits if the products cannot be exported to China? Will the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development buy salt to help salt workers clear their stocks?

In the south, farmers have chopped down rubber trees on thousands of hectares of land. In Son La province, farmers have had to fell 6-year-old rubber trees. In the past, they cut down coffee trees on a large scale to make room for other crops. Farmers do not know what they should grow and to whom they should sell produce. 

Dat Viet