Vietnam Agriculture News

WELCOME TO 22nd VIETNAM INTERNATIONAL AGRICULTURE TRADE FAIR - AGROVIET 2022

* Time: 15 - 18 September, 2022
* Address: No 489 Hoang Quoc Viet Str., Hanoi, Viet Nam

Vietnam strives to become one of the world’s leading agricultural countries by 2050

This is one of the goals set in the new strategy on agricultural and rural development in the period 2021 – 2030, vision 2050, approved by Decision 150/QĐ-TTg on 28th January.

Cashew exporters have $3.8b target for this year

HCM CITY — The cashew export target this year is US$3.8 billion, only slightly up from 2021, according to the Việt Nam Cashew Association.

Speaking at the 10th congress of the association (Vinacas) in HCM City on February 26, Phạm Văn Công, its chairman, said the focus is on keeping the cashew cultivation area unchanged while improving quality and value.

Despite the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, exports topped $3.66 billion last year, a year-on-year increase of 14 per cent and higher than the exports of any other farm produce like cashew, fruits and vegetables, rice, coffee, or pepper.

Việt Nam accounted for a whopping 80 per cent of the entire global cashew exports.

The exports went to over 100 countries and territories, with the US, China, the Netherlands, and Germany being the largest markets.

But Việt Nam remains a big importer of raw cashew to process for exports since domestic supply is inadequate, he said.

Việt Nam has around 300,000 hectares under cashew and an average annual output of 370,000 tonnes a year, or just 25-30 per cent of local processors’ demand.

Last year enterprises imported 3.1 million tonnes of raw cashew from many countries, mostly in Africa but also Cambodia, an 81.4 per cent increase over 2020.

This year around two million tonnes are expected to be imported.

Tạ Quang Huyên, chairman of Bình Phước Province-based Hoàng Sơn 1 Company and Vinacas’ deputy chairman, said global demand for cashew nut would continue to increase by 8-10 per cent per year in the coming years.

But with supply being higher than demand, prices are unlikely to increase this year, he said.

Vũ Bá Phú, director of the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency, said: “The cashew market will continue to be good for the next 10 years. Enterprises need to focus more on promoting their products in large markets such as the US and EU and those that have free trade agreements with Việt Nam.”

Demand in the EU, which accounts for 40 per cent of the world’s total, is expected to grow by 5 per cent a year, and Vietnamese exporters have an advantage there thanks to the EU-Vietnam FTA, he said.

He called on enterprises to focus more on raising product quality and meeting requirements in terms of corporate social responsibility and food safety and hygiene in importing countries.

Vinacas chairman Nguyễn Minh Họa said African countries are increasing their own exports of processed cashew to Europe thanks to their geographical advantage, resulting in increased competition.

Huyên said: “We don’t know when the Russia-Ukraine war will come to an end. If it prolongs, all industries will be badly affected.”

Phú said to sustain its position in the world market Việt Nam's cashew industry needs to control the quality of inputs, keep abreast of market information and consumption trends, enhance linkages between stakeholders, invest more in processing, building brands, and developing products with higher added value.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Lê Minh Hoan told the congress the cashew industry needs to change its thinking to cope with current challenges and difficulties and enhance added value.

Raising value by increasing productivity and output is old, and adding value by extensive processing is no longer new, and the industry needs creative thinking such as creating stories for their products that evoke emotions in consumers.

The congress chose the association’s 17-strong executive committee, with Công re-elected as chairman until 2026. — VNS

RoK assists Viet Nam in promoting agriculture productivity

VGP - The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (M*F) of the Republic of Korea (RoK) on February 21 announced that as part of its official development assistance (ODA) endeavors, it is implementing the first year Technical Cooperation Project for Aquaculture Productivity Enhancement in Northern Viet Nam.

For the successful implementation of the project, M*F is leveraging the untapped potential of blue carbon resources (mangroves) in the coastal region of Viet Nam.

The coastal region in northern Viet Nam, the target area of the project, is home to mangrove forests and tidal wetlands. After the mid-1990s, the region experienced a "Golden Era" with a booming shellfish farming industry.

However, the overfishing of marine resources and coastal environmental degradation in recent years have had grave implications on the natural production of seed clams, causing disruptions in the supply of clam seeds and, in turn, a sharp drop in shellfish harvests.

To address this, the Vietnamese Government requested that the RoK share its leading aquaculture farming techniques, which has resulted in the National Institute of Fisheries Science embarking on a five-year technical cooperation project in aquaculture.

After a two-year pilot project, the full-scale project will be implemented from 2022 to 2026 with a total budget of KRW 3 billion (or US$2.51 million).

As a model of interdepartmental collaboration that combines Korea Forest Service's ongoing mangrove reforestation efforts (330 hectares for 2020 to 2024 with a budget of KRW 4.5 billion) and the M*F's aquaculture expertise, the project is expected to restore habitats rich in organic matter through mangrove rehabilitation and create synergy with shellfish farming.

More specifically, through the project, the M*F will modernize aging seed production facilities and idle aquaculture sites in northern Viet Nam as well as dispatch Korean aquaculture experts to the region for technology transfer and capacity-building education.

Kim Hyun-Tae, Director General for International Cooperation Policies at M*F, commented, this is the first ODA project that integrates advanced aquaculture and reforestation techniques, expressing his hope that this will not only resuscitate Viet Nam's sluggish aquaculture production, but also provide an inroad for Korean aquaculture feed and facility businesses to enter overseas markets.

The RoK is the second biggest ODA donor of Viet Nam supplying US$1.5 billion in 2016-2020 through the Korea Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF).

Agro-forestry-fisheries sector enjoys trade surplus of 3.3 billion USD in eight months

The agro-forestry-fisheries sector's export revenue reached about 32.1 billion USD in the first eight months of this year, up 21.6 percent, while imports were estimated at 28.8 billion USD, up 44.1 percent, resulting in a trade surplus of about 3.3 billion USD, a fall of 48.2 percent over the same period last year, reported the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

Revenue from major agricultural products recorded a 13.6 percent growth to 13.9 billion USD, while forestry exports rose 42.7 percent to 11.2 billion USD, and aquatic products’ revenue increased 7.1 percent to 5.6 billion USD. Exports of livestock hit 286 million USD, up 15.9 percent.

Despite a fall of 1.3 percent in volume, export revenue of peppercorn still rose over 50 percent to 666 million USD. However, rice and tea suffered fall in both volume and value.

The major export market of Vietnamese agro-forestry-fisheries products was Asian countries which accounted for 41.5 percent of the market share, followed by America with 31.3 percent, Europe 11.3 percent, Africa 1.9 percent and Oceania 1.5 percent.

The US remained the biggest market of the sector with consumption of 9.3 billion USD worth of the products, accounting for 29.1 percent of the market share. It was followed by China with 18.9 percent of the market share.

In the first eight months of this year, Vietnam imported 28.8 billion USD of agro-forestry-fisheries products, up 44.1 percent year on year, including 2.9 billion USD worth of goods (mostly cashew nuts) from Cambodia and 2.7 bilion USD from the US.

In August alone, the sector earned nearly 3.4 billion USD from export, down 21.6 percent over the same time last year and 22 percent compared to the previous month.

Downturn was seen in export revenue of the majority of products, excepting for cassava, grain and milk products.

The sharpest fall was seen in the export value of furniture at over 50 percent, followed by tra fish at 30 percent, vegetable nearly 26 percent, fertilizer 24 percent, and peppercorn 21.5 percent.

The ministry explained that COVID-19 impacts forced factories to slow down operations or even shut down, affecting production for export.

The MARD said that in the rest of the year, it will continue to strengthen trade promotion to increase exports, while supporting localities and businesses in exporting farm produce, coordinating with relevant agencies and representative offices abroad to give market forecast, and applying online assessment on agricultural products./.

Source: VNA

Overseas Vietnamese firms are suppliers of Vietnamese goods to foreign markets

The overseas Vietnamese business community is an important distribution channel to bring Vietnamese goods to the world market, said Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyễn Hồng Diên.

From August 18 to September 27, the MCQ supermarket chain and AusViet Company are implementing a trade promotion programme for Vietnamese rice in Australia with the title "Việt Nam, Land of the World's Best Rice", according to the Vietnam Trade Office in Australia.

Under this programme, 10,000 bags of rice branded Ban Mai Cung Đình are offered to customers at the MCQ supermarket system that was established by Vietnamese people in 1992 in Perth.

At the same time, the AusViet Company will give hundreds of ST25 rice bags as gifts to Australian consumers in Melbourne to introduce Vietnamese rice to local people.

This is not the first time the overseas Vietnamese business community has introduced Vietnamese agricultural products to the world market. In June 2021, overseas Vietnamese retailers in the EU imported Vietnamese fresh litchi for the first time.

Vân Anh, director of Thanh Hùng supermarket in Spijkenisse, the Netherlands, said that in previous years, the supermarket has sold Chinese litchi at a price of 22-25 euros per kilo. Therefore, the supermarket has attracted more customers since selling Vietnamese fresh litchi with higher quality at a price of 18 euros per kilo.

President of the Union of Vietnamese Business Associations in Europe Hoàng Mạnh Huê said that Vietnamese people in the EU currently have very good facilities to develop consumption of domestic products. Moreover, overseas Vietnamese enterprises have a certain understanding of European customs and tastes.

So member enterprises of the association are ready to act as sales agents and representatives of Vietnamese goods in Europe, Huê said.

Hoàng Đình Toàn, chairman of Tamda Foods Group in the Czech Republic, said the Tamda Foods retail system hopes to continue cooperation with domestic enterprises in bringing Vietnamese products to the European market.

According to experts, Vietnamese goods have a lot of potential in consumption in the European market through overseas Vietnamese enterprises but there are still many challenges in the export process to this market.

Trần Thanh Hải, deputy director of the Import-Export Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said in the export process, Vietnamese goods still face trade barriers in terms of environmental, labour and origin standards. Besides that, Vietnamese goods must comply with strict requirements in quality and design of products in each European country.

Emily Nguyễn, the representative of a US import-export firm, said that Việt Nam is the largest dragon fruit producer in the world, but only about 5 per cent of local dragon fruit output enters the US market because each State in the US has regulations on quality, design and origins, so many Vietnamese products cannot meet all of these standards.

Hoàng Xuân Bính, chairman of the Vietnam Business Association in Poland, said that Vietnamese goods have not improved design, so they have not attracted local people.

Bình was quoted by the Kinh tế & Đô thị (Economics & Urban Affairs) newspaper as saying that “Vietnamese enterprises must improve product designs according to the demand of EU countries. Trade centres of the Vietnamese community in the EU also need to support Vietnamese export enterprises in consumption of Vietnamese products in this market."

According to Huê, in order to bring Vietnamese goods to other countries, it is necessary to establish a commodity information channel between associations of overseas Vietnamese in Europe and Vietnamese trade offices in the European countries. That will improve efficiency in cooperation between them to promote consumption of local products in Europe.

One more challenge is that many small and medium sized enterprises of Việt Nam have lacked funding for marketing their products.

Therefore, Bình said Vietnamese enterprises should promote links with overseas Vietnamese enterprises in marketing Vietnamese products, thereby reducing costs and increasing opportunities in entering the European market.

In order to support consumption of Vietnamese goods abroad, the Hà Nội People's Committee has been implementing a project encouraging Vietnamese people overseas to participate in marketing and consuming local products and developing distribution channels of Vietnamese goods abroad.

Deputy Director of the Hà Nội Department of Industry and Trade Nguyễn Thanh Hải said that the department will coordinate with the overseas Vietnamese business community to carry out trade promotion activities for Vietnamese goods in key markets such as the US, Russia, Eastern Europe, Japan and South Korea.

Source: VNS

Agricultural exports set to reach 50 billion USD by 2025

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development sets a target of earning 50 – 51 billion USD in export value of agro-forestry and fishery products by 2025 and 60 – 62 billion USD by 2030.

Businesses advised to find potential partners to increase exports to UK

Vietnamese agricultural product exporters that want to establish long-term business relationship with the UK need to have appropriate strategies, and approach potential partners in order to take advantage of export opportunities to this important market – the second biggest economy in Europe, advised Nguyen Canh Cuong, Vietnamese Trade Counselor in the UK, at a recent consulting webinar.

The event was jointly organized by the Vietnam Trade Office in the UK and the Trade Promotion Agency under the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade with the participation of more than 100 delegates who are representatives of agencies, organisations and enterprises exporting Vietnamese agricultural products.

According to Cuong, the UK - Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA), which became effect on May 1, along with British businesses' need to find suppliers outside the European Union after Brexit have created competitive advantages for many Vietnamese agricultural products in the UK market as well as more room and opportunities for cooperation between the two sides.

In 2020, Vietnam exported more than 16,000 tonnes of cashew nuts worth over 92 million USD to the UK, accounting for 71 percent of the market share. It also shipped 5,620 tonnes of pepper and 27,915 tonnes of coffee to the European country, accounting for nearly 40 percent and 5 percent of the market share.

However, other agricultural products such as rice and fruits are only available in small supermarkets and have not gained access to big supermarkets in the country. This shows that there remains huge potential for Vietnamese farm produce and vegetables to enter the UK market, Cuong stated.

Stressing the market’s high requirements on product quality, he suggested businesses adopt GlobalGAP standards as this is one of the prerequisites for Vietnamese agricultural products to be able to access high-end markets.

Sharing the same view, Nguyen Huy, a representative of Eurofins Assurance Vietnam Group, and Doctor of Agriculture Han Van Hanh, a post-graduate at Glasgow University, said that GlobalGAP will help Vietnamese businesses develop sustainably and stand firm at foreign markets.

In addition, for potential products such as tea, spices and fruits, Vietnamese businesses need to win trust of British buyers before they can sell goods, they added./.

Source: VNA

Đồng Tháp Province keen to develop agricultural products with geographical indications

The Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Đồng Tháp plans to develop at least one agricultural product with geographical indication by 2025.

It has prioritised rice, mango, flowers and ornamental plants, citrus fruits, longan, sweet potato, lotus, taro, tra fish, red tilapia, gourami, dried snakehead fish, eel, and egg-laying ducks for this.

It will have at least five farming areas zoned for key agricultural produce like mango, citrus fruits, vegetables, gourami fish, and sweet potato.

In 2021-25 it will establish at least two more showrooms for its key agricultural products and maintain the existing two in Hà Nội and Phú Quốc Island.

It will set up a portal to trace the origins of its key agricultural products.

To promote those products both in domestic and foreign markets, it will strengthen quality inspections and support linkages between various stakeholders in producing and consuming agricultural products.

Its rice output last year was worth VNĐ15.7 trillion (US$686.8 million).

Farmers’ income from rice increased by VNĐ12.9-28.6 million ($560-1,250) per hectare per crop from 2015 as they adopted advanced farming techniques which help reduce costs.

The province has focused on developing rice – related products to add value and promote their sales through modern distribution channels.

The largest mango producer in the delta, the province reported output worth VNĐ2 trillion ($87 million) last year, a 28.2 per cent increase from five years earlier.

Its mango co-operatives and farmers have adopted advanced techniques for growing, harvesting and post-harvest preservation to improve yields and quality.

To develop agriculture rapidly and sustainably, it has solicited private investment in it and sought to restructure it in combination with implementation of the national target programme on building new-style rural areas and reducing poverty.

It has licensed 75 companies involved in processing crops, seafood and livestock.

It has focused on developing community-based tourism in farming areas such as Sa Đéc flower village, pink mandarin orchards in Lai Vung District and lotus fields in Tháp Mười District.

Huỳnh Minh Tuấn, deputy chairman of the province People’s Committee, said the aim was to develop “biological agriculture, modern rural areas and smart farmers” by 2025.

The province sought to increase agricultural production, adopt advanced techniques, foster international integration, and adapt to climate change, he said.

Linking up

Farmers in the province are harvesting the summer-autumn rice crop, and those contracted with a company can earn VNĐ3-4 million ($130-180) per hectare higher than others since they get paid VNĐ100-200 per kilogramme higher than market prices.

Co-operatives and co-operative groups represent their members and sign contracts with companies.

Ngô Phước Dũng, director of the Mỹ Đông 2 Co-operative in Tháp Mười District, said contracts were signed with two companies at the beginning of the crop.

The co-operative’s members produce rice seeds on a total area of 58.5ha.

Nguyễn Phước Thiện, director of the province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said to sell agricultural produce amid the pandemic, his department had taken measures to harvest, transport and organise trade promotion and create linkages between various stakeholders.

Farmers associations and other organisations had also helped sell it, he said.

Phan Thị Kim Nhung, deputy chairwoman of the province Farmers Association, said the association used to only act as a link between farmers and companies, but amid the social distancing now it also helped farmers sell their products to households and others.

Source: VNS

Rubber exports increase but challenges ahead

Rubber exports this year have exceeded a million tonnes worth US$1.68 billion, year-on-year increases of 27 per cent and 66.1 per cent, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade’s import-export department said however exports had been hit hard since many businesses had to cease or reduce production as their plants were in locked-down areas or did not have enough workers.

Besides, high freight rates, forecast to continue until next year due to the shortage of empty containers, also affected exports, it explained.

According to the customs department, China remained the largest market, accounting for 67.4 per cent of Việt Nam's total rubber exports, followed by the EU and India.

China bought 643,000 tonnes in the first seven months of this year.

The EU bought 49,815 tonnes for $89.79 million, 71.4 per cent and 124.7 per cent up.

Exports to India increased by 70.6 per cent in volume and 119.7 per cent in value to 47,363 tonnes and $85.5 million.

The department said rubber exports to major markets were expected to grow thanks to rising demand there and their gradual economic recovery.

In the domestic market, the price of raw latex had been increasing.

Source: VNS

Programme introduced to help connect producers and consumers: MARD

The Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Development (MARD) has launched a programme to connect and support the sales of agricultural products on a national scale.

During an online conference held by the ministry in Hà Nội on Tuesday, high-ranking officials, local leaders and businesses across the country discussed current challenges and limitations faced by agricultural producers in recent months, especially in light of the many recent lockdowns that have gone into effect to combat the spread of COVID-19.

Some 1,300 supply points and 58 depots have been built to distribute over one trillion tonnes of agricultural products per day during the most recent lockdown imposed in HCM City, the country's largest economic hub and home to more than 9 million people, according to a ministry report.

During the lockdown, the ministry established numerous websites and hotlines to connect and support sales of agricultural products. The ministry has introduced combo sales such as the 10-kg combo of products for VNĐ100,000 or US$4.4, which has quickly become a best-seller in the southern city. Similar combo sales have also been rolled out in other provinces under lockdown in the Mekong Delta including the provinces of Bình Dương and Tiền Giang.

In the future, the programme will help connect suppliers, producers, retailers and consumers. It will also provide producers with management training, digitalisation guideline and geo-tagging support and serve as a platform for local leaders to work with agricultural experts and policy-makers.

Agriculture minister Lê Minh Hoan said the programme was designed to assist producers find the right markets, both domestically and internationally.

"It's the market that gets to decide what will be produced," Hoan said.

"Hopefully, the programme will help producers learn how to read the market demand and to produce the right products.

"Meeting market demand is the first step. The next step is to scale up production and minimise cost. Once we have high-valued products, it will be that much easier to find consumers."

The programme will also start collecting information on speciality products of localities across the country to build a database, which will support central and local government agencies in planning and in providing warnings and guidance on agricultural production in a timely manner.

Source: VNS