Hanoi, Sept. 18 -- Tariffs cut to zero under the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) from January 1 this year and the COVID-19 pandemic have made for a tough year for the sugar industry, heard an online seminar held by Nhan Dan (People) e-newspaper on September 16.

The Vietnam Sugar and Sugarcane Association (VSSA) reported that a third of sugar factories have closed and many companies are facing bankruptcy as they cannot sell their products, meaning there is no money to cover production costs and pay farmers or workers.

Unbalanced competition between domestically produced sugar and imported sugar from Thailand under the ATIGA's commitments is seen as the cause of the problem by industry insiders.

"Currently, the Thai sugar industry...