THE SITUATION IN SOUTH VIETNAM (WEEKLY)

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79T00826A001800010042-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 23
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 1, 2006
• Sequence Number: 42
• Publication Date: April 10, 1967
• Content Type: IR

Approved - Release 2007/03/08 : CIA-RDP79Td 26A001800010042-0
Secret
25X1
DIRECTORATE OF
INTELLIGENCE
Intelligence Report
The Situation in South Vietnam
(W/eekly)
State Dept. review completed
USAID review completed
Secret
145
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No. 0345/67
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Secret
WARNING
( his rl+x-nment contains information affecting the national defense of the
nitcrf States, within the meaning of Title 18, sections 783 and 794, of the
S (;,,,3e, as arrie idrd, 1( trananisimt or revelation of its contents to or
T l ?C?cipt by an unauthorized person is prohibited by law.
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Secret
 Approved Ge - Release 2007/C1?11CFAA?DP79T0 6A001800010042-0
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
Directorate of Intelligence
THE SITUATION IN SOUTH VIETNAM
(3 April - 9 April 1967)
POLITICAL SITUATION I
Ky-Thieu presidential candidacy still
unresolved; Electioneering in the
delta; Legislative elections; Another
civilian candidate for the presidency;
Village elections.
Changes in Directorate General of Na-
tional Police; Developments in Minis-
try of Revolutionary Development;
Refugee situation in South Vietnam.
ECONOMIC SITUATION III
Prices; Currency and gold; Rice situa-
tion; Fertilizer agreement; Thua Thien
Province and Hue.
ANNEX: Weekly Retail Prices in Saigon (table)
Saigon Free Market Gold and Currency Prices (graph)
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 Approi4ed Amt Release 2007FaWRffiATRnp7gTnM4rAnnigooninnA -o
Despite intense behind the scenes
jockeying within the upper strata of the
military establishment, neither Premier
Ky nor Chief of State Thieu has yet
emerged as the military candidate for
the presidency. In the meantime, two
more civilians, Tran Van Huong and Nguyen
Dinh Quat, have thrown their hats in the
presidential ring. Huong could prove to
be a formidable foe to the military can-
didate, but Quat's following is nearly
nonexistent.
Interest in the legislative elections
is also on the upswing, as is political
activity in the normally placid delta re-
gion below Saigon. In the first round of
village and hamlet elections on 2 April,
80.5 percent of the registered voters
cast ballots, a figure which was exceeded
slightly during the second round on 9 April.
Ky-Thieu Presidential Candidacy Still Unresolved
1. High-level behind the scenes efforts by the
military to resolve the impasse between Premier Ky
and Chief of State Thieu over the presidential can-
didacy reached a peak the last two days of March.
the eight mili-
tary members o e Directorate, p us five other
influential generals, met three times during that
period without reaching a decision on who should be
the candidate.
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2. The byplay surrounding the dilemma over the
military nominee suggests that the military backers
of neither Ky nor Thieu are certain of their strength.
Some of the generals may prefer that the military as
such avoid formally choosing and sponsoring a can-
didate. If the process of resolving the issue is
informally left up to Ky and Thieu, without the in-
tervention of the Directorate or the Armed Forces Con-
gress, Ky may prevail over Thieu, despite his avowals
that he will defer to Thieu's decision. Thieu is
naturally reticent, and reportedly wary of appearing
to abuse his present high position for political ad-
vantage.
3. Ky, on the other hand, has acquired a defi-
nite proclivity for public life. He has the added
advantage of having activist supporters, General Loan,
for example, who wield considerable influence over
government services which could play a significant
part in election campaigning. Moreover, Ky's daily
contacts as premier are more often outside the mili-
tary establishment than are Thieu's.
5. Ky also has agreed to cooperate fully with
the Democratic-Alliance Bloc in the Constituent As-
sembly, On 3 April,
bloc leaders discussed with Premier Ky their plans
to expand the bloc's influence in the assembly and
subsequently to become the nucleus of a progovernment
political party supporting Ky's candidacy. Ky report-
edly agreed, and implied that he would assist coopera-
tive assemblymen during their campaigns for election
to the lower house of the legislature this fall.
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Electioneering in the Delta
6. Political activity is also stirring in the
populous, but normally placid, delta area. Within
the military establishment in IV Corps,
Manh may back Constituent Assembly chairman Phan Khac
Suu for president if Chief of State Thieu does not
become the military's presidential candidate. In
mid-March, Manh reportedly stated that he preferred
Thieu to Ky, but seriously doubted that Thieu would
get the military's endorsement. In that case, he de-
clared, he would unofficially support Suu's candidacy
behind the scenes, and predicted that a number of his
province chiefs would do likewise.
7. General Manh, the only genuine southerner on
the military side of the Directorate, probably does
prefer Thieu to Ky. His reported decision to back
Suu instead of Premier Ky if Ky is the military can-
didate--if true--raises doubts about military unity
in the face of regional differences. Earlier reports
also indicated that some lower ranking southern of-
ficers may support Huong's candidacy, regardless of
the military candidate.
8. According to the US Embassy, Hoa Hao leaders
who are influential in seven delta provinces are cur-
rently engaged in a power struggle. Hoa Hao central
executive committee chairman Luong Trong Tuong, who
generally has cooperated with and supported Premier
Ky, has temporarily been replaced, thus jeopardizing
Ky's influence with the sect. Tuong may regain the
chairmanship, but it is uncertain whether he would
be able to deliver a Hoa Hao bloc vote for Ky should
Ky be the military candidate. Other Hoa Hao leaders
recognize the value of the Hoa Hao unity and are not
antimilitary, but they remain southerners at heart.
9. Political developments in the delta cannot
be projected with any degree of certainty over the
next several months, although one or two tentative
conclusions are possible. One is that military unity
might not hold up as firmly in the delta as it might
elsewhere in the country. Another possibility, how-
ever, is that fellow southerners Phan Khac Suu and
Tran Van Huong--who announced his candidacy this week-
end--may hurt each other by splitting the southern
regionalist vote.
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17
Legislative Elections
10. Interest in South Vietnam's first popularly
elected national legislative assembly is starting to
pick up in political circles. As it stands now, the
30-to 60-man upper house will be elected on 1 Septem-
ber along with the president, and the lower house
will be elected a month later. The dates, set by
the Directorate, could conceiveably change in the
wake of the Constituent Assembly's current efforts
to draft the electoral laws.
11. Several organizations, both inside and out-
side the government, will probably have an early ad-
vantage in terms of existing administrative and po-
litical structures from which to launch candidates.
In the case of the upper house, elements within the
Peoples-Army Council (PAC) and the Constituent As-
sembly already have plans underway..to form ten-man
slates which are to compete for blocs of seats. The
PAC slates will reportedly incorporate both its mili-
tary and civilian members, with the possible addition
of a few prestigious nonmember politicians, such as
Dang Van Sung, Phan Huy Quat, and Tran Van Tuyen. Such
slates would seem to offer a formidable accumulation
of political experience and occupational backgrounds.
12. The intentions of the various alliances in
the Constituent Assembly to enter the legislative races
are only beginning to emerge. The leader of one as-
sembly bloc, the Movement for the Renaissance of the
South (MRS), recently told a journalist that he is
attempting to organize a political party to partici-
pate in the elections. He said that the new party,
would hope to attract young, capable assembly members
and openly to sponsor between 50 and 70 candidates in
the elections for both houses of the legislature. He
also indicated that the party would support Tran Van
Huong for the presidency.
13. MRS members, who are generally considered
to be militant southern regionalists, have been among
the more adamant critics in the Constituent Assembly
of the northern-oriented military government, and
their support of fellow southerner Huong is not sur-
prising. Vo Long Trieu, who resigned from Premier
Ky's cabinet in protest last fall, is acting as Huong's
Appro
 Approv 2-0
unofficial campaign manager, and is very close to
the MRS bloc in the assembly. Trieu is also work-
ing hard--apparently with some success thus far--
to secure the support of the influential Southern
Old Students Association for Huong at the expense
of association president Tran Van Don.
Another Civilian Candidate for the Presidency
14. Another civilian, Nguyen Dinh Quat, an-
nounced on 5 April that he will run for the presi-
dency, according to press reports from both US and
Vietnamese news services. Quat's prospects of elec-
tion appear dim because of his "shady" business
reputation and lack of political following. A
Roman Catholic, born in North Vietnam, he is also
considered to have radical political views. Quat,
one of two unsuccessful opponents of Ngo Dinh Diem
in the 1961 presidential election, is currently a
member of the Constituent Assembly, representing
Binh Duong Province, where he is reputed to have a
large financial interest in a French plantation.
Village Elections
15. The first two rounds of the village and
hamlet elections on 2 and 9 April came off success-
fully, with threatened Viet Cong terrorism failing
to materialize substantially during the voting. The
first two phases encompassed some 471 villages, and
the remaining participating villages will elect their
councils during the next three Sundays. The voter
turnout was 80.5 percent of the registered voters on
2 April, and slightly higher on 9 April.
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Changes have been made in the national
police directorate to streamline its organi-
zation and incorporate village police offi-
cers into the national system. RD workers
are apparently going to receive a more ex-
plicit exemption from the draft. A group
of lower-ranking ARVN officers is to receive
some RD training so that the officers may
assist the RD Ministry. The Ministry is
relaxing its regulations for funding self-
help projects, and apparently will make
some changes in the number and location of
projected Ap Doi Moi ("Real New Life Ham-
lets") under Ru oars for 1967. There have
been several developments in recent months
with regard to assistance being given to
growing numbers of refugees; a map showing
the numbers and distribution of the refu-
gees is included.
Changes in Directorate General of National Police
1. The regional police directorates in Nha Trang
(Khanh Hoa Province) and My Tho (Dinh Tuong Province)
were dissolved at the beginning of March by order of
General Nguyen Ngoc Loan, :director of the national
police. The purpose of General Loan's order was to
make the four remaining regional directorates coincide
with the military corps boundaries and civilian ad-
ministrative regions.
2. The regional directorate headquartered in
Ban Me Thuot (Darlac Province) was to have been trans-
ferred by 31 March to Pleiku (Pleiku Province), the
headquarters of II Corps. The regional directorates
for I, III, and IV Corps are already colocated with
the Corps headquarters in Da Nang, Bien Hoa, and Can
Tho cities. The Saigon Municipal Police Directorate,
with jurisdiction over Saigon and Gia Dinh Province,
is unaffected by the changes.
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3. Loan's directive also reportedly established a
personnel ceiling of 150 for the respective headquarters
of`:th.regional directorates in II and IV Corps. The
newly created administrative entities of Cam Ranh Auton-
omous;City and Sa Dec Province have priority in receiving
the excess personnel from the two abolished regional
directorates.
4. By the end of April, village police chiefs
are to be fully absorbed into the national police
directorate in accordance with a directive of 4 Janu-
ary 1967. The integration of village police forces
was attempted by the national police in both 1963 and
1966, but was blocked for political reasons. The new
directive gives village police the option to resign
or to accept, employment as a village policeman under
the Village administrative committees. Training of
village police officers will become the responsibility
of the regional police directorates, with the type and
length of training dependent on the background of the
individual policeman.
5. A shortage of educationally qualified per-
sonnel exists not only at the village level, but for
positions throughout the national police system; the
shortage is particularly acute in the highland areas.
Personnel with the necessary educational requirements
are often unwilling to work for the low salaries offered,
or to "start at the bottom" even though, as policemen,
theyar.e exempt from military draft. The national
police may recruit only from within the following age
groups: 17-18, 24-29, and 33 and above. The age brackets
were evidently set up to minimize competition for draft-
eligible males, although the immunity given police may
be intended to encourage youths enlisting in the police
at ages 17 and 18 to remain with the organization for
an extended period.
Developments in Ministry of Revolutionary Development
6. The draft status of RD workers--long a major
problem--may be settled in the near future. General Cao
Van Vien, chief of the Vietnamese joint general staff,
and General Thang, the commissioner general of the Min-
istry of Revolutionary Development (MORD), have agreed
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SOUTH VIETNAM:
Refugee distribution
r Demarcation Line
Refugees in temporary shelters
Less than 5,000
5,000 to 8,000
8,000 to 20,000
More than 20,000
YEks~r Moe II CORPS
till?n in I)~Uf'I
1I
III CORPS
303.8 It>
CUMULATIVE TOTALS
for period i January 7965 to 31 December 1966
1,678,089 refugees
542,716 resettled refugees
325,417 refugees returning to native villages
809,956 refugees in temporary shelters
I CORPS
3 [6.5
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 on the wording of an order which will provide draft
exemption to anyone completing six years of service as
an RD worker. The order is expected to take effect
this week, upon the signature of Premier Ky.
7. Approximately 100 ARVN lieutenants are
scheduled to be sent this month to the Vung Tau RD
Training Center for a two to three week RD training
course. After completion of the course, MORD plans to
use the officers--reportedly the rank most receptive
to ARVN's new RD role--in various capacities in order
to replace weak leaders in RD programs,, and provide
unity of command, increase security for RD teams, and
assist in RD programs at district levels.
8. The RD Ministry apparently intends to relax
a ruling that almost 90 percent of its funded self-
help projects be performed in Ap Doi Moi or "Real
New Life Hamlets'." A new directive is being drafted
by the Ministry to provide greater flexibility in the
allocation of funds for self-help projects. Perhaps
even more significantly, the new order is expected to
alter the number and locations of the hamlets to be
classified as Ap Doi Moi under existing goals.
Refugee Situation in South Vietnam
9. The Special Commissariat for Refugees (SCR)
has made arrangements to move approximately 300 fami-
lies of Nung (an ethnic Chinese tribe) origin from
Saigon to the Dong Lac resettlement area in Khanh Hoa
Province. Transportation by boat and assistance in
the construction of permanent homes for the first
increment of 80 families will be funded partly by the
SCR and partly by the Vietnamese Confederation of
Labor (CVT), with help from a US union.
10. Several other private organizations abroad
are also aiding the SCR in the care of refugees. A
British philanthropic organization, the John F. Kennedy
Center, has agreed to provide funds to construct a
primary school in the Ha Thanh Refugee Center in Quang
Tri Province. The New York-based International Rescue
Committee (IRC) which has provided South Vietnam
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medical doctors and supported a montagnard weaving
cooperative in Ban Me Thuot, is expanding its activi-
ties in the refugee field'-and plans to furnish a com-
munity development team for the Lai Thieu resettlement
village in Binh Duong Province.
11. Two other American voluntary organizations,
the "Save the Children Federation" of the Community
Development Foundation and the Asian Christian Service,
also plan to expand their activities in South Vietnam.
The former will emphasize refugee projects in-Binh
Dinh Provincq, and the latter plans to send a four-man
medical team to Dinh Tuong Province in anticipation
of a greater flow of refugees from stepped-up military
operations in Region IV. SCR representatives in Region
IV provinces are also trying to develop plans for the
care and resettlement of increased numbers of refugees.
12. In addition, the League of Red Cross Societies
(LICROSS), working with the Red Cross Society of Viet-
nam, has begun a milk distribution program for 1,000
children in the refugee camp at Phu Cuong, Binh Duong
Province. This program will continue when the fami-
lies are resettled at Lai Thieu. LICROSS has also
collected enough money, through responses to its ap-
peals for international assistance, to enable the Viet-
namese Red Cross to distribute food and other relief
commodities to over 600 refugees in Kien Giang Province.
13. The refugee population inHau
Nghia
Province
has been gradually increasing as more
people
abandon
their homes in and around the Boi Loi
Forest,
a long-
time safe haven for Viet Cong military
units
and instal-
lations which has over the past year been a target of
allied ground operations and air bombardment. Con-
struction of a refugee hamlet within Trung Lap village
to house the influx is reportedly progressing satis-
factorily. On 15 March, Dr. Que, the Special Com-
missioner for Refugees, dedicated a new dispensary
in Trung Lap which was constructed as a self-help pro-
ject by the villagers with assistance from an adjacent
Ranger Training Center.
14. The residents of the Cathedral Refugee Camp
near Qui Nhon city, in Binh Dinh Province, have begun to
relocate either to a model refugee site nearby or to
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their original homes. The camp is under supervision
of a Catholic clergyman, Father So, who plans to reset-
tle the refugees this year and to erect a school on
the camp site. The nearby model refugee site already
has 100 families, and within 90 days should be able
to accommodate 500 families.
15. The SCR has prepositioned necessary food
supplies and equipment to handle an anticipated 6,000
refugees expected to be generated by US clearing op-
erations in the An Lao valley of Binh Dinh Province.
Ten-man teams from the SCR, working at temporary re-
settlement sites at Bong Son, will undertake a census
and classification of the refugees who will then be
moved to a preselected resettlement area near An Khe.
16. An accidental fire on 31 March in Vo Dat vil-
lage, Binh Tuy Province, killed two infants and left
238 persons homeless before it was brought under control
by RD teams, local Vietnamese troops, and US military
personnel. Emergency relief supplies have been pro-
vided by the Office of Civilian Operations and plans
are already under way to construct new homes, using
concrete and other USAID-supplied building materials.
17. Another 6,000 persons made homeless by a fire
in the Khanh Hoi area of Saigon on 7 March, have re-
ceived unusually effective help from GVN agencies,
according to the US Mission. The government has seized
the opportunity created by the misfortune to rebuild
what was a poverty stricken slum and to provide the
inhabitants--primarily dock workers and other laborers--
with a. better housing area, primarily through self-
help. A swampy area, previously occupied by wooden
or tin shacks on stilts, is to be filled in and better
houses are to be constructed. The government is fur-
nishing one-third of the costs of the new housing and
the people in the area two-thirds, with USAID supplying
the construction materials. In the meantime, families
whose homes were destroyed by the fire, have been in-
noculated, registered, and provided relief items and
temporary shelters.
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18. In the Da Nang area, a refugee resettlement
project at An Cu is moving ahead steadily. Revolutionary
Development workers have been supervising the project
since its initiation in 1966 and approximately 520 family
units out of an anticipated 1,020 have been completed.
Under RD supervision, a 268-man refugee work force, with
five trucks lent by an ARVN engineer unit, has now begun
to fill in a low elevation area of An Cu, which floods
during the rainy season. Construction of an additional
290 units will begin as soon as the fill is completed.
19. Approximately 67 families, numbering over
300 persons, were evacuated on 31 March from two hamlets
in Kien Hoa Province to the provincial capital of Ben
Tre. The people, residents of an area under general
Viet Cong control, contacted a Regional Force unit and
requested that they be provided security in moving to
a government-controlled area. The relocation, including
personal effects and 55 tons of rice, was effected with
cargo aircraft and land vehicles and was completed
within eight hours after provincial officials were in-
formed of the request. There are some indications that
many of these refugees are being classed as Hoi Chanh
(returnees) under the Chieu Hoi program, in contradic-
tion of the program's stated intent.
20. The Viet Cong have continued to harass refugee
centers in an attempt to dissuade the inhabitants from
remaining in the centers and under government control.
The latest incident of significance occurred on 21 March
in Thua Thien Province at a refugee camp about 21 miles
northwest of Hue. The Viet Cong entered the camp,
destroyed two bridges and 117 of the 152 houses, and
temporarily abducted three people including the wife of
the camp chief. The people were told to return to Viet
Cong areas or their lives would be in danger,
21. Since the incident, district officials have
moved in additional security forces, and US Marines have
provided tents, food, and medical care. Preparations
are being made to move the refugees to a more secure
area. Apparently none of the refugees has returned
to Communist-controlled areas.
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 Ap
III. ECONOMIC SITUATION
Retail prices in Saigon were gen-
erally stable during the period 20
March to 3 April, but wholesale prices
for imported commidities continued to
rise reaching a new high level. Free
market currency prices, which varied
only slightly during the week ending
27 March, declined sharply on 3 April
as the price of gold continued to de-
cline for the fourth consecutive week.
The rice situation in Saigon continues
to show signs of improvement. Rice
prices
have
started to decline and
stocks
are
increasing. On 19 March,
the US
and
GVN concluded an agreement
whereby
the
US will finance the im-
portation of 330,000 tons of fertilizer
valued at about $40 million. These
imports will satisfy fertilizer re-
quirements through February 1968. Ac-
cording to a recent US Embassy study,
economic activity in Thua Thien Prov-
ince and its capital city of Hue re-
mains relatively stagnant.
1. Retail prices in Saigon were generally
stable during the period from 20 March to 3 April.
The USAID weekly price index for food items on
3 April was unchanged from 20 March as declines in
the prices of rice and fish tended to offset in-
creases in the prices of pork and certain vegetables.
The price of rice used by the working class fell on
3 April by two piasters to 27 piasters per kilogram
after having held steady at 29 piasters for the two
preceding weeks (see paragraphs 4-5). Pork prices
rose reportedly because the sale of frozen imported
pork, which began an 20 March, ceased. Prices of
nonfood items were also relatively stable during
the two-week period from 20 March to 3 April. Prices
of charcoal and firewood rose slightly on 27 March,
but then declined on 3 April. (A table of weekly
retail prices in Saigon is included in the Annex.)
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2. Prices of selected US-financed imported
commodities continued to rise reaching a new high
level on 4 April. During the week ending 28 March
prices of almost all imports rose slightly, and
during the following week most rose again, with the
exception of wheat flour and sugar. The largest
increase was in the price of cement, which has
risen by about 12 percent since 21 March.
Currency and Gold
3. Free market currency and gold prices de-
clined during the week ending 3 April. The price
of dollars fell by 10 piasters to 163 piasters per
dollar--the lowest rate since the end of August 196Q.
MPC (scrip) fell by four piasters to the official
rate of 118 piasters per dollar. It appears that
the prices of dollars and MPC (scrip) are following
the downward trend evident in the price of gold
during the previous three weeks. On 3 April, the
price of gold declined again reaching a level of
216 piasters per dollar, or one piaster below the
previous week. ( A graphic on monthly and weekly
free market currency and gold rates is included
in the Annex.)
4. The rice situation in Saigon continues to
show signs of improvement. On 3 April prices of all
three common types of domestic rice declined slightly.
Rice stocks on 30 March amounted to about 18,000
tons compared with 14,000 tons three weeks earlier.
Moreover, at the end of March, an additional 27,500
tons of rice were being unloaded from four ships.
The emergency distribution system, which was set up
on 13 March, appears to be operating smoothly with
about 16,000 irons having been distributed by 28 March.
Approximately a quarter of this amount was distrib-
uted to retail outlets in Saigon; the remainder
went to ARVN, the civil service, and other institu-
tional buyers.
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 5. It now appears that the GVN will proceed
with its plan to purchase rice from delta merchants
who are currently holding about 60,000 tons: Mer-
chants will: be required to sell half of this amount
to the GVN Office of Supply in Saigon at 21 piasters
per kilogram during the next month. The Office of
Supply will then sell this rice at a probable price
of 23 piasters per kilogram. The GVN also is mov-
ing ahead with plans to remill American rice to
make it more palatable to the Vietnamese. Remilled
short-grain American rice probably will be sold
at 19 piasters per kilogram.
Fertilizer Agreement
6. According to an agreement concluded between
the US and GVN on 19 March, the US will finance the
import of 330,000 tons of fertilizer valued at
roughly $40 million. These imports, which are well
above the level of 1966, will satisfy South Viet-
nam's requirements for fertilizer through the end
of February 1968. Vietnamese imports of fertilizer
amounted to about 178,000 tons in 1965. During the
first four months of 1966--the only period for which
data are available--imports amounted to 17,000 tons.
The new agreement provides for the designation of a
sole GVN importer, possibly the GVN Agricultural De-
velopment Bank, which will sell fertilizer at whole-
sale to any distributor on an equal basis with re-
gard to price, credit and delivery terms. The whole-
sale price of urea willsbe 9 piasters per kilogram
and until the beginning of September the retail
price will be 11 piasters per kilogram. After 1 Sep-
tember, when the season of peak fertilizer utiliza-
tion ends and supplies become more plentiful, re-
tail prices will be allowed to vary in accordance
with free market forces.
7. The sole importer will deposit counterpart
at a rate of 75 piasters to one dollar of fertilizer
cost. An amount of counterpart up to one billion
piasters will be released to provide credit for dis-
tributors. USAID will continue to support refugee
and New Life Development. projects with fertilizer
on a grant basis not exceeding $2.5 million in
value.
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 App
8. The economy of Thua Thien Province and
its capital city of Hue can generally be described
as stagnant: According to a recent US Embassy
study there are two major reasons for this : (1)
the province has a small and relatively unproduc-
tive cropland area which is declining in size; and
(2) very little effort has been made to -develop
industry in Hue. Apparently Hue prefers cultural
supremacy to the more commercial spirit found in
Da Nang.
9. Although Thua Thien's major economic activity
is agriculture with fishing a poor second, it is
still a food-deficit province. Provincial officials
estimate that the population is now 602,000 with
Hue having 116,000, compared with 1964 figures of
556,000 and 94,000 respectively. Thua Thien has
roughly 70,000 farm families who work plots averag-
ing half a hectare in size; The amount of arable
land is declining, mainly because the sand hills
along the coast seem to be moving inland covering
rice land. Salt water intrusion adds to the prob-
lem because of the destruction or poor maintenance
of salt water dikes. Rice production has been steady
or declining during the past few years, and imports
make up about half of total consumption:
10. Real income in the province probably is
down somewhat or at best has remained static. Prices
have continued to rise, and at an increasing rate
since the Buddhist "struggle movement" last spring.
According to provincial estimates, incomes in Hue
have risen by 150-200 percent since 1961, but have
not kept up with priceso In 1961 Hue and Da Nang
had almost identical wage scales, but now, for sim-
ilar occupation groups, wages are 20-40 percent
higher in Da Nang while food prices are slightly
lower than in Hue. All of Hue's imported goods now
enter through the port of Da Nang, and the extra
transportation requirements increase costs: The
province reportedly receives about 7,500 tons of
supplies by truck via Route 1 and .1,200'tons by rail
each month. Although the capacity of the rail line
between Da Nang and Hue is close to 2,400 tons a
month, Viet Cong sabotage cuts in half the tonnage
actually delivered to Hue.
111-4
Ap roved For Release 20071Q/P8 - 2-0
25X1
25X1
 Approved Oe~ Release 2007 L%NOR t RDP79T0 6A001800010042-0
11. The impact of the American military pres-
ence in Thua Thien's economy is negligible. Fewer
than 600 Vietnamese are employed by US forces and
agencies in the province. The small number of MACV
and civilian personnel in Hue are under a strict
curfew, and the city is off limits to the 8,500
marines stationed at Phu Bai, about 15 miles to
the south. According to the embassy study, the
marines have spent only 2,000 piasters in the local
economy during the past few months.
Appi
 Appro -
Weekly Retail Prices in Saigon a/
13 June 16 Aug 13 Mar 20 Mar
1966 b/ 1966 b/ 1967 1967
Index for All Items
173
211
Windex for Food Items
190
216
Of Which:
(In Piasters)
Rice-Soc Nau (100 kg.)
1,250
1,450
Pork Bellies (1 kg.)
90
100
Fish Ca-Tre (1 kg.)
130
170
Nuoc Mam (jar)
70
85
;Index for Nonfood Items
140
190
Of Which:
(In Piasters)
Charcoal (60 kg.)
460
600
Cigarettes (pack)
10
14
White Calico (meter)
27
37
Electricity (kwh)
4.2
N.A.
284 261
324 291
3,300 2,900
150 120
170 160
150 150
42-0
25X1
27 Mar
3 Apr
1967
1967
260 c/
261
288 c/
291
2,900
2,700
N.A.
150
150
140
150
150
210 206 207 c/ 208 c/
680 680 690 660
14 14 14 14
32 34 34 33
5.2 5.2 5.2 5.2
A. Data are from USAID sources. For all indexes 1 January 1965 = 100.
b. , Price levels just prior to and two months after the 18 June devaluation.
c. Preliminary.
Appro
 Approved'r Release 2007/03/08 : CIA-RDP79T26A001800010042-0
Saigon Free Market Gold and Currency Prices
500
PIASTERS PER
US DOLLAR
28 FEBRUARY
225
172
1
1966 1967
GOLD: Basis gold leaf worth $35 per troy ounce
US $10 GREEN
US $10 MPC Military Payment Certificates (scrip).
FEB MAR
1967
Approved For Release 2007/03/08 : CIA-RDP79T00826AO01800010042-0
 Approved For 1Wl'ease 2007/03/08 : CIA-RDP79T00826 01800010042-0
Secret
Secret
Approved For Release 2007/03/08 : CIA-RDP79T00826AO01800010042-0