Rubber plantations under consideration in Saravan, Dec. 2011
Rubber plantations under consideration in Saravan
December 21st, 2011
Vientiane Times, December 21, 2011
The government has given the green light for a Vietnamese company to study the viability of establishing a rubber plantation and processing factory in Samuoy district, Saravan province. A Memorandum of Understanding on the feasibility study was signed yesterday in Vientiane between Cao Su Quang Tri Company Managing Director, Mr Van Luu, and Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment, Mr Bounthavy Sisouphanthong. The signing was witnessed by the company’s Deputy Director, Mr Nguyen Huu Manh, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Office Deputy Head, Mr Khamphan Meunasithida, and Saravan provincial Planning and Investment Department Director, Mr Sayadeth Vongsaravan. Other officials from both Laos and Vietnam were also present.
The Cao Su Quang Tri Company was established in 1984 under the Cao Su Industry Group of Vietnam, and now has almost 4,000 hectares of rubber plantations and a workforce of more than 2,000 people, Mr Van Luu said. The company has also expanded into the tourism and hotel industry under joint venture arrangements with other companies. Under a friendship agreement between the provinces of Quang Tri in Vietnam and Saravan in Laos, Quang Tri province leaders asked the Cao Su Quang Tri Company to seek investment and business opportunities in Saravan province, to provide employment for local people and improve their living conditions, Mr Van Luu said.
“In 2009, the company worked with Saravan provincial authorities to survey the area and we chose Samuoy district, which is one of the 45 poorest districts in Laos, as a suitable site for a rubber plantation.” The company has entered into an agreement with the Lao government and provincial and district authorities to conduct a feasibility study on about 5,000 hectares of land believed to be suitable for growing rubber trees. The Prime Minister has approved the study on behalf of the Lao government, the ministries of Planning and Investment and Agriculture and Forestry and the Cao Su Quang Tri Company to allow an initial and comprehensive study of 990 hectares of land, while the remainder will come under consideration at a later date.
There are now more than 6,000 hectares of rubber plantations in Saravan province, while another 30,000 hectares of land concessions have been granted but these projects are yet to get underway. Most of the investors are Vietnamese companies, according to a report from the provincial Agriculture and Forestry Department. Rubber is more popular in some places than others, and provincial authorities in some areas have stopped approving land concessions for rubber plantations due to a shortage of arable land, the long lag time before farmers receive financial benefits, and in the interests of food security.