>> Vedan agrees to pay up
>> Consumers and retailers boycott Vedan’s products
>> MSG maker offers to pay up, farmers say it’s not enough
Vedan has agreed to compensate Dong Nai’s farmers by meeting their demands in hopes of finally putting the issue to rest. To date, Taiwanese MSG maker Vedan has agreed to compensate 100% of the amounts requested by farmers of Ho Chi Minh City, Ba Ria - Vung Tau and Dong Nai.
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| Thi Vai River has been seriously polluted as a result. |
The controversy surrounding their environmental violations and unsettled compensation for victims was adversely affecting their image and sales in Vietnam.
Vedan offered to pay Dong Nai’s farmers VND 70 billion (USD 3.6 million) previously. Representatives for the Dong Nai farmers rejected this offer and demanded that Vedan pay an amount of VND 119.5 billion (USD 6.2 million) - based on the calculations of the Institute of Natural Resources and Environment (INRE).
Due to a lack of consensus on damages between the INRE, Dong Nai’s People’s Committee and Vedan, Vedan had said that they could not yet offer an appropriate payment and promised to respond to the matter by August 13.
However, after some negotiation with representatives of Dong Nai’s Farmers Association, Vedan unexpectedly agreed to compensate Dong Nai’s farmers the full amount requested.
The decision was further confirmed by Vedan’s lawyer Hoang Nhu Vinh. “Vedan will pay Dong Nai’s farmers the amount of USD 6.2 million in two installments. The company will transfer half of the amount within the next week, while the rest will be delivered between January 10 - 14, 2011,” Vinh said.
Currently, Long Thanh District’s and Nhon Trach District’s People’s Courts have received over 1,050 lawsuit files from Dong Nai’s farmers against Vedan. About another 1,500 files are being finalised by lawyers to proceed in court. However, at the last minute, Vedan agreed to fully compensate Dong Nai’s farmers in hopes that the farmers would withdraw their lawsuits against Vedan.
It has been 2 years since Vedan was busted for discharging untreated waste-water directly into Thi Vai River (September 2009).