The economics of the rice industry in South Vietnam

Abstract

In the rice industry in South Vietnam, the rice produced by the farmer reaches the consumer through the intermediary activities of markets. This study aims at an analysis of the groups of people involved in the three stages of the process, namely, the production, the marketing and the consuming stages. In the production stage (Chapter 3), the supply response model is analysed under two aspects: area response and yield response. This section pays primary attention to the farmer's response to price changes. Besides, it also attempts to study other factors that influence the production level such as technology, weather, fertilisers and degree of security. In the case of consumption (Chapter 4), the factors believed to determine the demand for rice are studied. Besides the population factor, the income of the consumer is an important variable influencing the rice demand. The behaviour of the people toward the price increase or decrease is studied in two regions: a rice surplus region and a rice deficit region. The marketing efficiency is investigated under two criteria: price efficiency and the operation efficiency under the prevailing technology relating to the processing and transportation facility. The seasonal price flucutation is estimated. Upon the criterion of the price difference between the peak season and the off season, the return to the rice holder is calculated in order to evaluate the degree of rice price fluctuations. The price spread between certain market levels is also calculated to gain an insight into the degree of market competitiveness (Chapter 5). The results obtained relating to the behaviour of consumers, producers and merchants are used to assess the government import program in Chapter 6. The last chapter is a summary and suggests some programs and policies to achieve a rice production increase in order to allow South Vietnam to become self-sufficient. Show more