Vietnam wants 15,000 cooperatives by 2020

The Department of Cooperative Economy and Rural Development under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam has set a target of having 15,000 cooperatives nationwide by 2020, with 45% of them operating efficiently.

The department announced the goal at a conference held in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province on February 21 by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to review the 2016 performance of cooperatives and discuss the 2017 plan for the sector.

A report of the department says that the nation had had 11,000 agricultural cooperatives by the end of 2016 with 30% of them doing well. The average number of members in a cooperative was down from 600 to 400 and is forecast to drop to below 100 in the future.

According to the department, the decrease in cooperative members will help improve efficiency and increase incomes of members. Currently, the average revenue of a cooperative is about VND1.1 billion (48,000 USD) per year while profit reaches around VND200 million (8,800 USD) per cooperative. Average monthly income is VND1.5 million (66 USD) per member.

Data of the department reveals only 3% of the cooperatives get access to bank loans while 60% of them are in need of funds. Therefore, the Government should adopt a policy to back cooperatives to easily access funding sources.

Source: Agroberichten Buitenland