Businesses plan to recover the production

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused many difficulties for agricultural export companies in Dak Lak province. Orders stagnated. When the epidemic was basically under control, companies began to plan to restore exports.

Agricultural export enterprises in Dak Lak province are racing against time to restore production and export after the Covid-19 epidemic. Photo: Quang Yen.

Mr. Le Duc Huy, General Director of Dak Lak 2-9 Import-Export Company Limited (Simexco Dak Lak), said that the company's export volume decreased by 10% in the first six months of the year. The company has specific plans in Ho Chi Minh City and Binh Duong City to maintain production and prevent epidemics according to the "3 on-site" model.

The economies of European countries are also gradually recovering, so the demand for coffee consumption increases, despite the lack of containers and high freight rates. Therefore, Simexco Dak Lak had achieved the set plan by September, and the export turnover increased by 20%.

"At the beginning of the year, the company faced difficulties due to the complicated situation of the Covid-19 epidemic in Ho Chi Minh City and Binh Duong. The company has a plan to ensure export activities. In addition, the company has actively developed a good Covid-19 response scenario. Even though business activities were affected, the plan was still completed by the end of the third quarter," Huy shared.

Mrs. Nguyen Thi Thai Thanh, Director of Ban Me Green Farm Co., Ltd., said that the Covid-19 caused the company's exports to come to a complete halt due to the broken logistics system. The implementation of social distancing in Dak Lak province to bring the company's activities to a halt. If it produces "3 on-site", the company cannot cover the costs.

"There are no people to harvest raw materials, the logistics chain is broken, the market in Ho Chi Minh City is closed... are the reasons why the company's revenue has decreased by 80% compared to before," Mrs. Thanh said.

Despite the Covid-19 epidemic, Ban Me Green Farm Co., Ltd. is still committed to consuming products for people. Up to now, the company has paid 70% of payables to the farmers.

Currently, businesses in Dak Lak are planning to restore production and export.

According to Mr. Le Duc Huy, General Director of Simexco Dak Lak, the province is about to enter the time of coffee harvesting. "Dak Lak has a low vaccination rate, which can lead to a shortage of workers in coffee harvesting and processing. To adapt to the epidemic, the company has adopted a "3 on-site" model. Currently, the company's inventory is more than ten thousand tonnes of coffee. If the company is closed, it will have to suffer a lot of damage," Mr. Huy said.

Despite being affected by the Covid-19 epidemic, Simexco Dak Lak still achieved the set plan that coffee for export and domestic sale will reach 100,000 tonnes this year.

"December is the main coffee season. Therefore, the company's biggest concern is that if Covid-19 breaks out again, it will affect the coffee harvesting process and affect the company's exports", Mr. Huy added.

Ms. Thai Thi Thanh, Director of Ban Me Green Farm Co., Ltd., said that to reactivate business activities, the company has completed the completion of warehouses and workshops, completed signed orders, and actively looked for new orders.

The People's Committee of Dak Lak province recently held a conference to evaluate the export situation in the first nine months of 2021, implement the plan for the last months of the year, and some critical tasks in 2022.

According to a Dak Lak Department of Industry and Trade report, the province's export turnover in the first nine months reached US$ 392 million, reaching 60.3% of the plan, down 3.2% over the same period in 2020.

Specifically, the export of green coffee reached 150,000 tonnes (reaching 65.2% of the plan), instant coffee 5,900 tonnes (78.7%), pepper 3,700 tonnes (55.2%), honey 6,600 tonnes. 57.4%), rubber 7,500 tonnes (81.5%), cashew nuts 190 tonnes (32.8%), vegetables 63 tonnes (66.3%).

Recently, exporters have faced difficulties due to the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic, leading to a lack of containers and cargo ships, so delivery contracts are slow.

Besides, the province's export products are mainly in raw form, with low value; lack of large enterprises and export hubs to export essential products; disease-free production areas for export have not yet been established; some agricultural products have not met the requirements of the international market.

To achieve export goals in the upcoming time, the authorities will capture the situation of goods clearance at border gates to inform businesses to have a reasonable transportation plan and avoid damage. At the same time, promote the introduction of agricultural products of the province on the e-commerce platform and boost the digital agricultural economy. In addition, it focuses on exporting high-value products and processed agricultural products.

Mr. Luu Van Khoi, Director of Dak Lak Department of Industry and Trade, said: "To help businesses during the pandemic, the Department has had many programs to promote products and connect post-processing markets. However, the unit does not organize offline but online to encourage investment.

Currently, the province's export turnover has reached nearly US$ 500 million. It is expected that the export turnover of agricultural products in the last three months of the year will be about US$ 168 million.