THE 5TH THAI-MALAYSIAN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SOUTHEAST ASIAN STUDIES

RE-MAKING HISTORICAL MEMORY IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

MAHIDOL University - February 16 – 17, 2012

AN ENCOUNTER WITH INVENTED MEMORY IN MAKING OF ECONOMIC POLICY

THE CASE OF COFFEE TRADING IN CENTRAL HIGHLANDS OF VIETNAM

Nguyen Hoang My Phuong – Vietnam

Main content:1. Vietnam coffee industry2. Economy from the historical standpoint in Dang Phong’s perspective3. Remaking memory of coffee trading in Vietnam4. Concluding remarks

VIETNAM COFFEE INDUSTRY

Vietnam coffee production

Structure of the coffee industry in Central Highlands (2007)

Main solution in MA thesis

Using financial instruments • Derivatives• Commodity-backed bonds

GRO

WER

S

AGENTS/COMPANIES

EXPORTERS

DOMESTIC ROASTERS

INTERNATIONAL TRADERS/ROASTERS/EXCHANGES

6%94%

94%

6% 94%

ECONOMY FROM THE HISTORICAL STANDPOINT IN DANG PHONG’S PERSPECTIVE

CENTRALLY-PLANNED ECONOMY MARKET-ORIENTED ECONOMY

ECONOMIC MINDSET

NEW UNSOLVED INFORMATION

ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION IN VIETNAM1979 - 1986

•No chronology•Finding out fundamental causes•Multi-disciplines (Economics, History, Politics, etc.)•Various sources (interviews, newspapers, governmental documents, etc.)

=> Dang Phong: an Economist – not a writer

RE-MAKING MEMORY OF COFFEE TRADING IN CENTRAL HIGHLANDS OF VIETNAM

INVENTED TRADITION NEW ARRIVAL CUSTOM

COFFEE TRADING

FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

GLOBALIZATION

TRADITION

LIBERALIZATION

EXPORTING

+ PRIVATE AGENTS, COMPANIES + COMMODITY-BASED BONDSSTATE-OWNED ENTERPRISES

/BANKS

CREDIT PHYSICAL COFFEE # FUTURES CONTRACT

PHYSICAL COFFEE

FLOWS OF PHYSICAL & PAPERS

CONCLUDING REMARKS

an owner of a Daklak-based private enterprise

‘So many companies and

people in Daklak lost hundreds

of billions VND because of using

futures contract in LIFFE or

ICE*. It is bad! I never use it’

a Vietnamese CEO of a 100% foreign-owed company in Daklak

‘LIFFE and ICE* are the

biggest markets on the world.

You therefore have a wide

range of choices once

entering into it’

* LIFFE or ICE: the two main futures exchanges of trading coffee

Q&A

Thank you

Nguyen Hoang My Phuongmenfuong@gmail.com