In addition to the great opportunities that the EVFTA Agreement provides, Vietnam’s agricultural exports face many new challenges when entering this big playground.
The European Union (EU) is currently the second largest export market for Vietnam’s agriculture, forestry and fishery products, after China. Vietnamese enterprises mainly export seafood, coffee, cashew nuts and tropical vegetables to the EU and import eggs, milk, honey, beef, chicken, pigs and vegetables from the EU.
After 10 years since the inception of the negotiations, EVFTA was officially approved. At the moment, when EVFTA comes into effect, many Vietnamese products will be reduced to 0% tax such as broken rice, grain products … For fruits, vegetables, seafood, EU also committed to abolish. 50% of tax lines, the remaining 50% of tax lines will be eliminated in the 5-7 year roadmap.
It is forecasted that export growth of some agricultural products will increase significantly until 2025 thanks to EVFTA. Specifically, rice will increase by 65%, sugar will increase by 8%, pork by 4%, forest products by 3%, cattle and poultry by 4% by 2025.
In particular, EVFTA also contributes to attracting investment projects in the agricultural sector, helping to transfer technologies and ways of organizing production in the agricultural sector, thereby helping to increase output and quality of agricultural products. helping Vietnamese agricultural products to meet strict standards of the European market …
EVFTA brings many opportunities and challenges for Vietnamese agricultural products. (Artwork: KT)
However, according to economists, seizing these opportunities is not easy. The international door has been opened, but in order to “pass through”, Vietnamese agricultural products still have to overcome a number of strict barriers such as: EU technical barriers on origin, product quality or intellectual property protection …
According to economist Vu Vinh Phu, Vietnam has signed CPTTP and EVFTA Trade Agreements, which means that we have entered the largest commercial playground in the world.
Besides opportunities, there are also significant challenges for the Vietnamese economy in general and the agricultural economy in particular. This is also an opportunity for Vietnam to upgrade the economy at a low level in the region and the world to have enough competitiveness in all aspects in the near future.
On the other hand, Mr. Phu is concerned that Vietnam is still a country with underdeveloped agriculture compared to other advanced countries in the world in terms of labor productivity, product quality and consumption price.
Along with that, due to low starting points, most of the business is still fragmented, small, the content of science and technology in agriculture is low, hygiene and safety are still weak, production costs are high, so the competition competing with imported agricultural products of other countries will be very difficult.
In the meantime, dairy products and livestock in countries where Vietnam pledges to reduce import duties will rush into the domestic market with cheaper prices and higher quality than Vietnamese products.
At that time, consumers will benefit, but the production of agricultural products of businesses and farmers will face difficulties in a certain period.
The economist said that EVFTA’s commitment to tax reduction is only a part, most importantly, farmers and agricultural enterprises need to have the skills and qualifications to gradually overcome the gap. This gap creates high quality Vietnamese agricultural products.
At the same time, it is necessary to proactively promote and improve production capacity, seek markets, build brands for Vietnam’s agricultural products.
In the field of export, the reduction of import tax on the countries that signed the Agreement will encourage the development of Vietnam’s agricultural products production. However, in order for this to be true, Vietnam must overcome technical barriers on plant and animal quarantine and quarantine.
Products manufactured in a sustainable development condition such as environmental protection, social responsibility, caring for all employees, not wasting resources, ensuring social justice in distribution, export those products.
Currently, Vietnamese agricultural products account for 70% of consumption in the domestic market with simple, easy-to-use habits, production discipline and loose market. Therefore, there should be a revolution in science and technology in the production of agricultural goods in the future.
“When stepping into this big playground, the competition law will force us to rise up to master ourselves, make the best of the commitments signed with the countries. To be more specific, it is shrimp, fish and meat that Vietnam exports, so that countries cannot return them.
Must do business methodically, ensure food hygiene and safety and reasonably competitive prices; Production and business must develop sustainably and produce environmentally friendly products; Economic institutions should be clear, transparent, implement a shared economy without leaving anyone behind … ”, economic expert Vu Vinh Phu emphasized.
According to VietnamBiz
