January 17, 2007

Vietnam to boost soybean production in 2010

Vietnam has planned to increase its soybean cultivation acreage to some 400,000 hectares in 2010 from 210,000 hectares in 2006.

According to the Crop Production Department under the Vietnam Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the planned acreage will increase soybean production by 700,000 tonnes, up by 300,000 tonnes or 25 percent, to meet 50 percent of the local demand.

The department said Vietnam is choosing soybean varieties with higher productivity and quality as the government continues to disseminate information to small farmers on effective ways of growing soybean plants. 

The country has to import most of soybeans for domestic use, of which 50 percent comes from India, and 45 percent from Argentina.