b) For provinces having commercial rice output exceeding one million tons/year, under the guidance of the Standing Board of the provincial Party Committee, the President of the provincial People’s Committee shall consider and assign an additional enterprise to directly export rice if it is necessary and such enterprise is qualified. At the request of the President of the provincial People’s Committee, the Ministry of Trade shall issue a business license to such enterprise.

Particularly for Can Tho province, in addition to the enterprises which have conducted direct rice export in the locality, the Song Hau farm is permitted to directly export rice as an experimental model of the rice production-cum-export enterprise .

c) For Ben Tre and Ca Mau provinces, under the direction of the Standing Board of the provincial Party Committee, the Presidents of the provincial People’s Committees shall consider and decide an additional enterprise to directly export rice if such enterprise is so qualified, or to entrust one other eligible enterprise to directly export rice in the form of commissioned export.

Article 3.- To approve the rice export quotas allocated to the provinces and the centrally-run enterprises in accordance with Appendix No.1 attached to this Decision.

The allocation of specific quotas to the enterprises in the areas of the provinces (for direct export or commissioned export on the principles defined in Article 2 of this Decision) shall be decided by the Presidents of the provincial People�s Committees after consulting the Southern Food Corporation.

II. ON FERTILIZER IMPORT:

Article 4.- The quotas for the import of 1.5 million tons of urea and a quantity of other kinds of fertilizer in 1997 shall be allocated at one time in March 1997 so that the provinces and centrally-run enterprises can take the initiative in importing and distributing fertilizer in service of production.

Article 5.- The approval of the urea import quotas shall be assigned to the provinces and centrally-run enterprises in accordance with Appendix No.2 attached to this Decision.

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The Presidents of the provincial People’s Committees shall decide which enterprises in their respective localities to be assigned to import fertilizer.

III. ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION:

Article 6.- With regard to rice-exporting enterprises and fertilizer importing enterprises in their respective localities, the Presidents of the provincial People’s Committees shall, under the direction of the Standing Board of the provincial Party Committee, have to carefully select qualified enterprises to ensure the fulfillment of allocated quotas and take responsibility before the Prime Minister for their decisions.

After issuing specific decisions, within March 1997 the Presidents of the provincial People�s Committees shall notify the Ministry of Trade, the General Department of Customs, the State Bank of Vietnam, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of the names of the enterprises in their respective localities permitted to export rice and/or import fertilizer and the quotas allocated to them.

Article 7.- The provincial People’s Committees shall have to regularly coordinate with the Ministry of Trade and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in closely directing the enterprises of the provinces to organize together with major central corporations the purchase of commercial rice from farmers, and the efficient export thereof and to ensure the timely supply of materials at reasonable prices for agricultural production; to gradually combine rice trading with the supply of fertilizer and other services for agricultural production with a view to implementing the Prime Minister�s policy on food and fertilizer business stipulated in Decision No.140-TTg of March 7, 1997.

The provincial People�s Committees shall supervise, control and take responsibility for the fulfillment of the allocated export-import quotas by enterprises in their respective localities; they shall not permit the sale, purchase or transfer of quotas in any form. Any enterprise which cannot fulfil the assigned quota must promptly report to the Ministry of Trade and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development so that the Prime Minister can make the readjustment and/or re-assign the quota to another enterprise.

Article 8.- The Ministry of Trade shall set up an inter-ministerial working group, headed by a Vice-Minister of Trade and composed of representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the State Bank of Vietnam, the Ministry of Finance, the Government Pricing Committee, the Office of the Government and those from major rice and fertilizer trading enterprises, to direct the activities in rice export and fertilizer import.

Monthly the working group shall hold a briefing to promptly solve newly arising matters, report in details on the performance by the enterprises; in case of any matter that is beyond the competence, the ministries and/or branches the Ministry of Trade shall have to report to the Prime Minister for direction.

Article 9.- The Ministers, the Heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the Heads of the agencies attached to the Government, the Presidents of the People’s Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government shall have to implement this Decision.

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THE PRIME MINISTER




Vo Van Kiet

APPENDIX NO.1

attached to Decision No.141-TTg of March 8, 1997 of the Prime Minister

ALLOCATION OF RICE EXPORT QUOTAS FROM MARCH TO THE END OF SEPTEMBER 1997

Unit: ton

Number Regions uotas

A. Localities 1,670,000 (*)

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2 Can Tho province 175,000

3 Dong Thap province 230,000

4 Long An province 155,000

5 Vinh Long province 100,000

6 Kien Giang province 170,000

7 Tien Giang province 130,000

8 Tra Vinh province 80,000

9 Soc Trang province 150,000

10 Bac Lieu province 65,000

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12 Ben Tre province 20,000

13 Thai Binh 30,000

14 Ho Chi Minh City 75,000

B. Centrally-run enterprises 680,000

15 The Southern Food Corporation 480,000

16 The Northern Food Corporation 180,000

17 Petch Company under the MOT 20,000

C. Back-up quotas 150,000(**)

The total = A + B + C 2,500,000

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(*) Including the rice exporting companies under the Southern Food Corporation located in the Mekong delta provinces.

(**) For additional allocation as incentive to enterprises with high efficiency in rice export.

Appendix No.2

Attached to Decision No.141-TTg of March 8, 1997 of the Prime Minister

ALLOCATION OF THE 1997 UREA IMPORT QUOTA OF 1.5 MILLION TONS TO THE PROVINCES AND CENTRALLY RUN ENTERPRISES (*)

Unit: Ton

Number Regions Quotas

A. Provinces (**)

In the South: 305,000

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2. Dong Thap province 40,000

3. An Giang province 35,000

4. Tien Giang province 30,000

5. Vinh Long province 42,000

6. Tra Vinh province 16,000

7. Can Tho province 40,000

8. Soc Trang province 20,000

9. Kien Giang province 20,000

10. Bac Lieu province 10,000

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In the North: 80,000

12. Hai Phong city 25,000

13. Hanoi city 15,000

14. Nghe An province 20,000

15. Thanh Hoa province 20,000

In Central Vietnam 80,000

16. Da Nang city 20,000

17. Dac Lac province 20,000

18. Phu Yen province 20,000

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B. A number of centrally run enterprises

20. The Agricultural Supplies Corporation 340,000

21. The Cereals Export-Import Company 210,000

22. The Southern Food Corporation 45,000

23. The Northern Food Corporation 30,000

24. The Vietnam Coffee Corporation 20,000

25. The Vietnam Rubber Corporation 10,000

26. General Export-Import Company III 20,000

The Chemicals Corporation under

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Notes:

* The total demand for imported urea in 1997 is 1.5 million tons. In January 1997, 340,000 tons were imported; the remaining 1,160,000 tons shall be imported to meet the need of the Summer and Winter-Spring crops in 1997.

** Dong Nai shall import other kinds of fertilizer.

*** The Chemicals Corporation shall conduct import in service of domestic fertilizer production, not for trading.