• 
• 

Published on March 11, 2008

Two years ago, when a Japanese creditor of six sugar plants in Vietnam put them on sale, Mitr Kasetr decided to buy one in Binh Thuan province and renamed it MK Inter Sugar.

Chairman Prapat Jenlapwattanakul said the Vietnam government has a million-tonne sugar policy, which showed it was serious about developing the industry.

He said sugar demand in Vietnam had much room to grow, because of its large population of more than 85 million people. The average consumption in Thailand stands at 31 kilogram per head a year. Vietnam's consumption today is merely 13 kilogram per head.

He said sugar consumption there was expected to grow 10 per cent annually, in line with the country's economic growth of about 8 per cent a year.

Due to insufficient supply in the market, the retail price of sugar in Vietnam is about Bt40 per kilogram, which is much higher than the Bt17-per-kilogram charged here.

The factory price of sugar in Vietnam is also higher than in Bangkok, at more than Bt20 per kilogram, compared with Bt14 in the Kingdom.

ChalidaEkvitthayavechnukul

The Nation

Hoi An, Vietnam