Agricultural exports

The Hanoitimes - The EU market requires Vietnamese businesses to overcome technical barriers and comply with regulations on quality, food safety, and traceability. Exports of Vietnamese vegetables and fruits to the European Union (EU) have jumped after the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement took effect as local companies strive to overcome many strict barriers. Vietnamese agricultural exports to EU meet strict barriers. Photo: Hanoimoi Positive signals On September 17, the first batch of Vina T&T Group’s vegetables and fruits was shipped to the EU market. Nguyen Dinh Tung, general director of Vina T&T, told Kinh te & Do thi that to send the batch to the EU, their fresh coconut, dragon fruit and grapefruit must ensure traceability and Global GAP standards. Besides, the group’s fruit processing and packaging factories have to apply a host of standards such as ISO, the food safety management system (HACCP), and thoroughly process products to comply with EU regulations. After this shipment, the company will export about 20 tons of fruits of different kinds to the EU market every week. In 2020, the fruit and vegetable sector would earn around US$4.5 billion in export value, falling short of the US$5 billion target due to the sharp decline in demand from China, Vietnam's traditional buyer of fruits and vegetables. However, in the long term, the export turnover of these items will rise strongly, especially when Covid-19 is contained, and consumer demand in the EU will bounce back, said Secretary General of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association Dang Phuc Nguyen. Satisfying European standards The EVFTA has opened up opportunities for Vietnamese fruits and vegetables to enter the EU market if exporters surpass technical barriers and meet strict regulations on quality, food security and traceability. Nguyen said any vegetable and fruit can be exported to the EU, however, it is important to make sure that there is almost …

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Developing new supply chains According to the Vietnam Farms and Agricultural Enterprises Association, last year, Vietnam signed many important economic agreements. Noticeably, the RCEP signed in last November is considered the largest agreement in the world, with a scale of about 2.2 billion consumers, accounting for about 30 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP), at about US$26 trillion. “The RCEP is expected to bring Vietnam's agricultural sector into a new stage by creating the largest free trade area in the world, with the development of regional and global value chains, increasing the prospects of attracting domestic and foreign investment. With the RCEP, it will help enterprises to overcome difficulties, access new markets, and restore production better, opening up export opportunities,” said Mr. Le Minh Duy, Chairman of the Vietnam Farms and Agricultural Enterprises Association. He added that the RCEP also standardized the rules related to trade competition, anti-dumping, and anti-subsidy taxes. The RCEP includes 10 ASEAN member countries and five countries, including Australia, China, South Korea, Japan, and New Zealand. Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen, General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, said that the RCEP is larger than the trade bloc of the US, Mexico, and Canada, as well as the European Union. Because, the GDP of the RCEP members surpasses the GDP of member countries of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), due to the presence of China. According to the economic development process, RCEP members are expected to exceed $100 trillion by 2050. The RCEP will create opportunities to develop new supply chains and export more items. For instance, the Chinese market only allows 10 items of fresh fruit and vegetables for official export. Now thanks to the RCEP, the export of other products, such as durian, passion fruit, avocado, pomelo, and star apple, can be expanded. Similarly, …

[Read more...] about Opportunities to increase agricultural exports to nearby markets

The Hanoitimes - An online conference designed to promote the export of Vietnamese farm produce and food is underway between September 22 and 25. More than 150 wholesale buyers from 28 countries and territories around the world are joining an online trade matchmaking conference with 30 Vietnamese food and agricultural manufacturers and traders. This is the largest online trade conference in the field of agriculture and food products. Photo: Vietnam News The event is jointly held by the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnamese trade missions overseas and the US Agency for International Development (USAID). It is part of the Project to promote reforms and improve joint capacity of Small and medium enterprises (USAID LinkSME). The event aims to broadly promote the potential and strengths of Vietnamese agricultural and food products for export, and to connect Vietnamese SMEs with import partners, potential wholesalers and retailers in foreign markets, in the context that local companies face difficulties in promoting trade with foreign partners due to Covid-19. This is the largest online trade conference in the field of agriculture and food products so far. According to experts, it is expected to further boost up Vietnamese exports as Vietnamese shipments of farm produce have been affected by Covid-19. Statistics from the General Department of Vietnam Customs showed that in the first eight months of this year, the export turnover of agricultural, forestry and aquatic products was estimated at US$26.15 billion, down 0.9% over the same period in 2019. Among them, the spearhead items achieved a turnover of around US$12 billion, down 3.2%; exports of livestock products were estimated at US$250 million, down 25%; and seafood US$5.2 billion, down 5.3%. …

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