Experts and managers have come up with a series of solutions to help expand export markets for Vietnamese agricultural products.
Good news
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in the first six months of 2022, the export turnover of agricultural, forestry and fishery products reached 27.88 billion USD, up 13.9% over the same period last year. In which, the main group of agricultural products is 11.37 billion USD, up 8.8%; main forest products USD 9.1 billion, up 3.0; seafood 5.8 billion USD, up 40.8%; livestock production $ 176 million, down 15.9%; production input $ 1.42 billion, up 64.8%.
Contributing to that success, there are 9 products and product groups with high export value and over USD 1 billion, including: Coffee, rubber, cashew, vegetables, rice, pangasius, shrimp, products wood, input for production. In which, rubber, coffee, rice, cassava and products from cassava increased in both volume and value of exports.
Specifically, rubber increased by 9.2% in volume, 12.2% in value; coffee increased by 21.7% in volume, 49.7% in value; rice increased by 16.2% in volume, increased by 4.6% in value; cassava and cassava products increased by 13.2% in volume, up by 28% in value. Particularly, although the export volume of pepper decreased, reaching 125 thousand tons, down 19.1% in volume, but thanks to an increase in the average export price of 40.9%, the export value still increased (reached USD 566 million, an increase of 14 ,0%). Other items that increased in value were mainly thanks to volume such as: wood and wood products reaching US$ 8.49 billion (up 2.8%), rattan, bamboo and sedge carpets US$ 481 million (up 8.2%).
Regarding export markets, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said that there are four markets including the United States, China, Japan and South Korea that import the largest agricultural, forestry and fishery products from Vietnam, of which the two largest markets are the United States and the United States. China last time is well maintained.
In which, the United States is the largest market with export turnover of about 7.61 billion USD, up 7.9% and accounting for 27.3% of total export value, of which, mainly wood and wood products (accounting for about 66.8%). China is the second largest export market with agro-forestry-fishery export turnover of about US$4.97 billion, up 5.9% and accounting for 17.8% of total export value. In the opposite direction, the import of agricultural, forestry and fishery products in the first 6 months of 2022 is estimated at 22.1 billion USD. The trade surplus of the whole industry reached about 5.75 billion USD, 2 times higher than in the first 6 months of 2021.
In recent years, Vietnam’s agricultural exports have grown strongly. Illustrations
Businesses still face many challenges
Mr. Hoang Xuan Khang, representative of International Fresh Group Company, shared that currently, the products distributed by the Company are present in supermarkets in many EU countries. However, the output of agricultural products from Vietnam that the company distributes in this market only accounts for less than 1%, which is very unfortunate. According to Mr. Khang, in fact, the company has worked with Vietnamese businesses, but many businesses have not yet met the requirements of food safety standards and traceability, so they have been rejected. from the begining.
Therefore, Mr. Khang expressed his wish that, first of all, state management agencies need to help businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, to obtain certifications on standards and basic infrastructure for export to the EU market. Then comes choosing the right product and marketing strategy.
In order to export vegetables, tubers and fruits to the EU smoothly, Mr. Khang said that Vietnamese enterprises need to pay special attention to the problem of pesticide residues, because only a few batches of pesticides are needed. substandard, may affect all remaining exporters. Therefore, businesses need to promote the mindset of “one person for all, all for one person”.
Ms. Phan Thi Thu Hien, Director of the Center for Post-Import Plant Quarantine I and II of the Plant Protection Department said that the requirements of each market for agricultural products are different. For example, the US market requires fresh fruits and vegetables to be treated with irradiation; Korea, Japan require hot steam treatment.
Typically with the EU, plums do not require any phytosanitary treatment, but need to be strictly controlled for pests. Species such as leaf borer, stem borer… are detailed by your side in the appendices.
“In general, cooperatives and farmer households need to coordinate with state management agencies to ensure and closely monitor the code of the growing area and the code of the packing facility for exported agricultural products. Particularly in the EU, agricultural products such as mango, grapefruit, lemon and some leafy vegetables are in the required group, “said Ms. Hien.
Commenting that the EU is one of the most demanding markets in the world, Ms. Hien hopes that regional specialties or Vietnamese OCOP products will appear more and more in Europe.
Need to know the regulations of each export market
According to Dr. Ngo Xuan Nam, Deputy Director of Vietnam Office of National Inquiry and Inquiry on Sanitation, Epidemiology and Quarantine (hereinafter referred to as Vietnam SPS Office), SPS measures related to processing vegetables and fruits are like pieces to complete the export business. Businesses, cooperatives and people need to be sure to ensure uninterrupted trade.
According to Mr. Nam, in the first 6 months of the year, Vietnam received 504 notices related to food safety and animal and plant quarantine, including changes in measures to change residue levels and quarantine methods. Compared to the same period in 2021, the number of notifications increased by about 9%. Japan is the country with the most notifications, with 83 notifications, accounting for 16.47%. Next is Brazil, EU, Canada, USA.
The leader of SPS Vietnam said that this is in line with the current law of international advocacy. By sector group, 319 of the 504 notifications involved plant-related changes, accounting for about 63%.
Introducing a number of SPS measures related to fruit and vegetable processing in key markets, Mr. Nam emphasized, each market will have a different set of standards and interests. For example, Japan has 5 sets of laws, 3 regulations on food quality and safety, the US has 4 framework regulations, and ASEAN is mainly concerned with animal quarantine issues.
The two markets that Mr. Nam focuses on are the EU and China. In particular, the EU pays special attention to residue levels in both fresh fruit products and processed products and dried goods.
“Recently, at the 83rd session of the SPS-WTO Committee, we worked with the EU on this issue. The side commits to work closely with Vietnam to enhance information, as well as unify measures to control and notify, to promote trade in agricultural products, “said Mr. Nam.
With China, Dr. Nam informed, that about 2 years your country will update its policies related to quarantine once and send a notice to the WTO. China promised to work with Vietnam to develop and disseminate regulations related to Order 248 and Order 249 in the form of a video clip, in order to help Vietnamese businesses ensure the deadline for completing registration documents before June/June. 2023.
Developing processing technology appropriate to the scale
According to Mr. Ngo Quang Tu, Department of Agricultural Product Processing and Market Development (MARD), there are currently 157 processing facilities with a capacity of nearly 1.1 million tons of products per year. In general, factories are still short of raw materials all year round. The average capacity is only about 56-60% due to the difficulty of concentrating raw materials, seasonal processing, food safety quality has not been achieved such as size, taste, color, uniformity …
In addition, there are thousands of small-scale and micro-processing establishments, cooperatives and households in all regions with different types of vegetables and different forms. However, these processing facilities and enterprises are very short of production capital, small scale, difficult in terms of production space, poor post-harvest storage, lack of minimal equipment (electricity, water, cold storage, etc.). …), resulting in post-harvest losses of more than 20%.
Regarding the proportion of processed products: canned food accounts for 50%, concentrated juice products 18%, fried products (12%), soft drinks (10%), frozen products (8%)… Price ratio The value of processed fruit and vegetable products for export compared to the export value of vegetables and fruits in 2020 will only reach 18%.
On that basis, Mr. Ngo Quang Tu said that in order to reorganize production, localities need to promote production linkages, raw material areas are connected in chains to ensure raw materials for processing that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development needs to issue. legal documents on association to have sanctions, regulations to coordinate activities of association …
Mr. Ngo Quang Tu, Department of Agricultural Product Processing and Market Development (MARD). Photo: NNVN newspaper
With most of the processing facilities being small and small, Assoc. Dr. Pham Anh Tuan – Director of the Institute of Agricultural Electrical Engineering and Post-Harvest Technology said that it is necessary to orient the development of modern technology, suitable for small and medium-scale. There are 4 product groups suitable for small and medium scale: fresh vegetables, dried vegetables, frozen vegetables and canned vegetables.
“If we pay attention to the small, medium-sized enterprises and cooperatives, we can increase the processing rate and can meet the demand for diversification of processed vegetables and fruits,” said Mr. Pham Anh. Tuan pointed out.
Mr. Pham Anh Tuan said that it is necessary to invest in appropriate technology for this object. In order to select technology and equipment, build a workshop for preliminary processing, preservation and processing of vegetables and fruits suitable for small and medium-sized scale, units should pay attention to requirements such as: identification of objects, products, production scale, investment ability and target market, selection of suitable equipment technology consultant, investment in factory construction, equipment installation, trial production, technology transfer and finally comes quality registration, product commercialization.
Sharing more about solutions for diversifying export markets, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien said that through many digital trade promotion programs, the Ministry continues to support businesses in general and export enterprises. agricultural product exports to promote effective exploitation of free trade agreements (FTAs) signed with countries and territories, especially FTAs with the Eurasian Economic Union; countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
Currently, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is coordinating with the Ministry of Industry and Trade in assessing and forecasting the situation in a timely and accurate manner; jointly find solutions to stabilize production and supply for the domestic market as well as for export of agricultural products. In particular, focus on exchanging and negotiating with other countries to bring Vietnamese agricultural products into these markets. In addition, the two ministries also stepped up support for businesses to exploit both traditional markets and access new markets. Along with that, promptly remove difficulties and bottlenecks in exporting agricultural products.
Source VietQ
