A launch ceremony for the export was held in the province’s Thoai Son districton September 22.
In his remarks, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le QuocDoanh stressed that the EVFTA is key for Vietnamese farm produce to gain accessto a market of great potential with a population of more than 500 millionpeople and GDP of 15 trillion USD.
The agricultural sector needs to sufficiently restructure to join globalproduction chains and work to ensure food safety and traceability in order to securea foothold in the EU market, Doanh said.
Meanwhile, Chairwoman of the Food Agri & Aqua Business Sector Committeeunder the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam Marion Matinez described theEVFTA as a win-win trade pact for both Vietnam and the EU, as it is the mostcomprehensive and ambitious agreement the EU has ever concluded with adeveloping country.
It will support trade and investment activities between the two sides at a timewhen global business activities have been clobbered by COVID-19, she said,adding that it will also encourage European enterprises to invest in a safe andrapidly-growing economy like Vietnam.
As the second-largest rice producer in the nation, An Giang’s cultivation areaunder the grain stands at 670,000 ha with an annual output of more than 3.9million tonnes. Its rice products are now found in 39 countries andterritories, with Asia being the largest market, accounting for nearly 80 percentof the province’s rice exports.
Since the trade agreement took effect on August 1, the Loc Troi Group JSC hasmade meticulous preparations in rice cultivation and worked with EU partners tomeet customer tastes.
As part of the EVFTA, the EU gives Vietnam a quota of 80,000 tonnes of rice ayear subject to zero tariff rates, including 30,000 tonnes of husked rice,20,000 tonnes of unhusked rice, and 30,000 tonnes of fragrant rice.
The EU will also fully liberalise the trade of brokenrice, helping Vietnam export an estimated 100,000 tonnes to the bloc annually.
It will bring tariffs on rice-based products down to 0per cent after three to five years./.