(VEN) - The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) has a plan which will see the plastic industry become a strong sector that has high growth and comprehensive development.
According to MOIT, the plastic sector has grown rapidly and become an important support industry in Vietnam. 120,000 workers have been engaged in 1,100 enterprises in the plastic sector across the country so far. In 2009, the production value of plastic sector hit 3.2 million tonnes. Of this, plastic packing products accounted for 39 percent of production. Plastic products for construction, household appliance and technical purpose followed at 21 percent and 19 percent. In 2010, the plastic sector revenue reached USD$1 billion.
MOIT recently held a seminar on Planning the Plastics Sector Development by 2020 and vision 2025, to orientate the industry's development and lay a strong foundation for the sustainable development of the plastic industry. Dr. Pham Ngoc Hai, Vice Director of the Institute of Industry Policy and Strategy of the MOIT presented the content of the second plan. The plastic sector aims to become a strong sector with a high and sustainable growth rate by 2020. Material and product production will be processed synchronously and plastic waste will be salvaged and recycled. The proportion of domestic material usage will be increased, so that the plastics sector will be able to integrate firmly into the world economy. Meanwhile, a modern and advanced plastic sector will be targeted to produce high quality, highly competitive, environmental friendly, and added value products, with diverse product types and designs of world standard quality. Specifically, the industrial production value growth rate of the plastic sector will reach 17.5 percent in the period of 2011-2025, 18.26 percent in the period of 2016-2020, and 16.52 percent in the period of 2021-2025. The percentage the plastic sector will comprise of the economy will increase by 4.48 percent in 2010 to 5 percent in 2015, 5.5 percent in 2020 and 6 percent in 2025.
To reach its targets, the plastic sector will need to make great efforts. Nguyen Dang Doanh, President of the Plastic Association of Vietnam said that despite the high growth rate of the industry in the last few years, the plastic sector is mostly known as a plastic processing industry while it can not control material source independently. Product design is poor while the scale of business remains small and is only focused on mass demand products, plus there is a lack of highly-skilled human resources.
To help the plastic sector handle these difficulties, the MOIT has proposed suitable measures over the coming period. Of this, capital is the most important measure. Aside from its own capital and capital provided through joint ventures, enterprises in the plastic sector will have access to preferential local credit sources and the Government. Total investment in the plastic sector in the period of 2011-2020 is predicted to hit VND241 trillion which will focus on new construction projects or expanded projects, adoption of modern technology and developing human resources.
To tackle difficulties in material sourcing, foreign investors should be encouraged to use local oil and gas to produce plastic materials in Vietnam while investors in the petrochemical sector, chemical sector, joint venture plastic sector should be given favorable conditions. The Government will create preference for Vietnam enterprises to join projects on plastic material while giving preferential policy on investment credit so that model projects will enjoy 85 percent of loans from the Bank of Investment and Development (BIDV). It will also create favorable condition for enterprises to import safe recycled plastic materials, transfer science and technology, human resource training and market expansion./.
