HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MoPI) has submitted a plan on developing the collective economy and cooperatives for the 2021-2025 period to the Prime Minister for approval. 

The plan is part of an effort to carry out the strategy on developing the collective economy and cooperatives for the 2021-2030 period to lay a foundation for ministries, agencies and localities to devise annual programmes and schemes in fields under their management.

It comprises goals, development orientations, measures, costs and ways of implementation.

The MoPI’s Agency for Cooperative Development said amid the global integration era in the next decade, cooperatives enjoy many chances to access new technologies, attract foreign investment, especially from major partners in farm produce processing and export.

However, they will face increasingly intense competition both at home and abroad due to climate change, growing population, and rapid urbanisation which fuel stronger demand for safe and quality products.

In order to develop the collective economy and cooperatives sustainably, the agency suggested raising public awareness and their role and position in the new situation.

According to the agency, there were over 26,000 cooperatives nationwide last year, with 6.1 million members. Up to 100 cooperative alliances group more than 630 cooperatives and over 119,000 cooperative groups with about 1.6 million members.

Due to small scale and uneven development among regions, their growth remained low and contributions to the country’s gross domestic product fail to meet demand.

Linkages between collective economic entities and cooperatives, and other economic sectors remain weak while coordination among State management agencies, socio-political and mass organisations in the effort is limited and ineffective. — VNS