A cooperative that produces safe vegetables in Tiền Giang. — VNA/VNS Photo Vũ Sinh

HCM CITY — The collective economy in Tiền Giang Province has recovered strongly in the first 10 months of the year, greatly contributing to local socio-economic development and poverty reduction, according to the Tiền Giang Cooperative Alliance.

In the first 10 months, 16 new cooperatives with nearly 300 members were set up, and no cooperative was dissolved, said Lê Minh Khánh, deputy chairman of the alliance.

Currently, the province has one union of agricultural cooperatives, and 257 cooperatives and people's credit funds, an increase of 21 cooperatives compared to the same period last year, he said.

They posted a combined revenue of over VNĐ2.14 trillion (US$86 million) and after-tax profit of VNĐ 39.4 billion ($1.5 million), a year-on-year increase of 16.1 per cent and 64.7 per cent, respectively, achieving 82.8 per cent of the full-year target, he said.

The cooperatives have contributed to creating jobs for nearly 31,000 labourers, each with a monthly income of VNĐ5.7 million ($229) on average, up over 9.6 per cent from the same period last year.

The provincial authorities have paid great attention to promoting the development of the collective economic sector. In particular, many new policies promulgated by the Party and State have created a legal and practical corridor to support the sector to reach to new heights in a sustainable manner, he said.

In addition, the implementation of policies to support the development of the collective economy in combination with other programmes such as the national target of building new-style rural areas, the agricultural sector restructuring programme, and the one commune one product (OCOP) programme have supported cooperatives in transferring production technology, building value chains, and promoting trade.

With respect to trade promotion, so far this year the alliance has connected 25 cooperatives with businesses to promote consumption of the former’s products, such as fruits and rice, or form partnerships to build raw material areas for export.

Policies to support cooperatives in accessing capital have been actively implemented, Khánh said.

Currently, eight cooperatives have obtained loans worth a total of nearly VNĐ18 billion ($723,855) from the provincial Development Investment Fund, and two cooperatives received loans worth nearly VNĐ2.5 billion ($100,536) from the Central Cooperative Development Assistance Fund.

Besides that, the province has also paid great attention to training and improving the quality of human resources for cooperatives.

To further boost the development of cooperatives, the alliance will continue to coordinate with departments, agencies and localities to effectively implement the Government’s policies to support cooperative development, and regularly meet with cooperatives to solve their difficulties or proposals, he said. — VNS