Economy
Lai Châu has long been the poorest province in Vietnam. It is also the least industrialised province. In 1974, the industrial output of Hanoi - the richest province in North Vietnam at that time - was 47 times as high as that of Lai Châu. The province became even more backward after the more industrialised south was separated to become Điện Biên Province. In 2007, Hanoi’s industrial output (before its merger with Hà Tây Province) was 93 times that of Lai Châu. Industrial output has, however, grown rapidly in recent years, more than tripling between 2000 and 2007, making the fastest growing sector in the province compared to an agriculture and forestry sector that has grown by less than 50% and a service sector that has more than doubled in the same time. Industrial products include liquor, bricks, cement and electricity. Industrial output in 2007 was 476.6bn VND, accounting for 28.9% of the province's economy, compared to only 16.5% in 2000.
Lai Châu's main agricultural products (in 2007) are rice (99900t), maize (35000t), cassava (48900t) and tea (16532t). The production of rice and maize tripled since 2000, while the output of cassava and tea has been increasing by around 40% and 120%. Tea from Lai Châu is sold to other provinces in Vietnam and also exported to other countries.
Lai Châu has a relatively large forestry sector with an output of 176.3bn VND in 2007. It has, however, been far overtaken by the agricultural, industrial and service sectors and contributed little to recent growth. It has grown by only 1.66% in 2007 and 1.69% in 2006, after declining by almost 19% between 2000 and 2005.
There are plans to exploit rare earth elements in Lai Châu. Vietnam's central government signed an agreement in October 2010 to supply Japan with rare earth elements in Lai Châu Province. This is part of Japan's efforts to diversify its supply of rare earth and decrease its dependence on imports from China.
Lai Châu’s economy grew by 14.56% in 2007, 12.3% in 2006 and 50.75% between 2000 and 2005.
Read more about this topic: Lai Chau Province
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