Vietnam to investigate booming sand exports

thanhniennews.com 25 Aug 09;

Vietnam’s prime minister has asked relevant ministries to inspect Mekong Delta sand exports after a local newspaper said exports to Singapore were booming, altering the area’s water flow and causing environmental damage.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Ministry of Construction need to verify whether the report is true and submit the findings to PM Nguyen Tan Dung by September 15, the government office said Monday.

Earlier, Tuoi Tre newspaper said the volume of sand shipped from the Mekong Delta region to foreign countries in the first half of 2009, mainly Singapore, shot up to nearly 7 million tons, a seven-fold increase compared to 2008 and equivalent to the total exports of the last 10 years, citing the Customs Agency of Can Tho City.

Exports from Vietnam to Singapore jumped after Cambodia banned sand exports in May on concerns over the potentially devastating impacts of sand dredging, the newspaper said.

Prior to May, sand from Vietnam’s Delta was not favored by other countries due to its lower quality compared with Cambodian sand.

With demand for the natural product remaining high, Vietnamese exporters have grasped the opportunity to profit, according to the newspaper.

In the past, Cambodia sold its sand to Singapore at VND90,000 (US$5.05) per cubic meter. Now, Vietnamese firms ship the resource for VND40,000 ($2.25) per cubic meter, but still earn high profits after purchasing the sand for just VND17,000 ($0.95), the newspaper said.

In October 2008, the Vietnamese government announced a temporary ban on exports of sand. However, exports under contracts signed before November 30, 2008 were still allowed.

But the government did not specify the deadline for exports under the deals, Tuoi Tre quoted Nguyen Minh Thong, deputy head of Can Tho City’s Customs Agency, as saying.

“Thanks to [good] profits and high demand in Singapore, exporters change the dates of signing deals to before November 30 so that they can continue shipping the resource,” he said.

Source: Thanh Nien