Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group is allowed in principle to import 50,000 tonnes of sugar from Laos. — Photo kinhdoanhnet.vn

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — The Government has agreed in principle to allow the Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group (HAGL) to import 50,000 tonnes of sugar from Laos at a tax rate of 2.5 per cent.

The group had invested in sugar and produced it in Laos.

The ministries of agriculture and rural development and industry and trade have agreed to the quota and have submitted the proposal to Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung for approval.

Earlier, the HAGL Group filed a petition to allow it to import crude sugar from Laos, which will be processed in Viet Nam and then exported to China.

According to commitments made to the WTO, Viet Nam must allow 81,000 tonnes of sugar to be imported as raw material this year. The import quota has been raised by five per cent each year from 50,000 tonnes in 2007, when the country joined the WTO.

More than 310,000ha of land is under sugarcane cultivation in the country at present. In the 2013-2014 period, sugarcane production touched 1.6 million tonnes, with productivity rising to a record 5.47 tonnes per hectare. - VNS