The competitiveness of Vietnamese agricultural and aquatic products isweakening compared to that of foreign counterparts in the global market,leading to a dramatic fall in these commodities’ exports so far.
Agriculture contributed just 0.28 percent to the gross domesticproduct growth rate in the first quarter of 2015, the slowest pace since2011, heard a June 6 workshop held by the Institute of Policy andStrategy for Agriculture and Rural Development under the Ministry ofAgriculture and Rural Development.
InstituteDirector Nguyen Do Anh Tuan said the shipment decrease is not beingrectified, and noted that the dropping demand has been compounded by theemergence of strong rivals that have left local products struggling tocompete.
He pointed out that other countries floatforeign exchange rates, unlike Vietnam which keeps the rate fixed. Thismakes foreign products cheaper, as is clearly seen with coffee, shrimpand tra fish.
In terms of rice, Cambodian andMyanmar rice now are deemed high quality and can easily outstripVietnamese rice in the major trade partner China.
Coffee is another currency earner for Vietnam, yet Colombia hassucceeded in a re-cultivating programme making its coffee morecompetitive than the Vietnamese product in both price and quality, hestressed, noting that Brazil has also cut down prices to reduceinventory.
Vietnamese tra fish now has to competewith white-fleshed fish, which is strongly developed in other countries,while more shrimp products from India, Thailand, Indonesia and Mexicoare hitting supermarket shelves in the US.
Localfruits that are traditionally prominent in China, like lychees, plums,dragon fruit and water melons are also encountering challenges, as thenorthern neighbour is rapidly growing fruit trees itself, enabling it toexport its fruits to Vietnam, Tuan added.
Workshopattendees also underlined the poor quality of made-in-Vietnam farmproduce and misguided strategies that mean they can no longer meetglobal demand. For example, Vietnam has mostly shipped abroad Robustacoffee while foreign markets prefer Arabica.
Theyalso pointed out a lack of market information, especially relating toChina, further undermining Vietnamese edge in this critical market.
It will be hard for Vietnam to supply goods with lower prices andhigher quality so as to outpace other countries’ commodities unless itmakes scientific and technological breakthroughs in agriculture, Tuansaid.
Director of the Centre for Agricultural PolicyConsultation, Dang Kim Khoi, said it is necessary to promote theproduction of quality goods, adding that Vietnam should step up coffeetree re-cultivation and the planting of first-rate rice varieties, curbthe expansion of rubber tree areas, and control the supply of tra fish.He also asked for the development of the support industry and processingtechnology.
Other experts suggested the countryprovide aid to exporters to counter the impact of the exchange rate. Theaid can be in the form of reducing value added tax and enterpriseincome tax, widening credit limits, and assisting in transport expensesand trade promotion.-VNA
Agriculture contributed just 0.28 percent to the gross domesticproduct growth rate in the first quarter of 2015, the slowest pace since2011, heard a June 6 workshop held by the Institute of Policy andStrategy for Agriculture and Rural Development under the Ministry ofAgriculture and Rural Development.
InstituteDirector Nguyen Do Anh Tuan said the shipment decrease is not beingrectified, and noted that the dropping demand has been compounded by theemergence of strong rivals that have left local products struggling tocompete.
He pointed out that other countries floatforeign exchange rates, unlike Vietnam which keeps the rate fixed. Thismakes foreign products cheaper, as is clearly seen with coffee, shrimpand tra fish.
In terms of rice, Cambodian andMyanmar rice now are deemed high quality and can easily outstripVietnamese rice in the major trade partner China.
Coffee is another currency earner for Vietnam, yet Colombia hassucceeded in a re-cultivating programme making its coffee morecompetitive than the Vietnamese product in both price and quality, hestressed, noting that Brazil has also cut down prices to reduceinventory.
Vietnamese tra fish now has to competewith white-fleshed fish, which is strongly developed in other countries,while more shrimp products from India, Thailand, Indonesia and Mexicoare hitting supermarket shelves in the US.
Localfruits that are traditionally prominent in China, like lychees, plums,dragon fruit and water melons are also encountering challenges, as thenorthern neighbour is rapidly growing fruit trees itself, enabling it toexport its fruits to Vietnam, Tuan added.
Workshopattendees also underlined the poor quality of made-in-Vietnam farmproduce and misguided strategies that mean they can no longer meetglobal demand. For example, Vietnam has mostly shipped abroad Robustacoffee while foreign markets prefer Arabica.
Theyalso pointed out a lack of market information, especially relating toChina, further undermining Vietnamese edge in this critical market.
It will be hard for Vietnam to supply goods with lower prices andhigher quality so as to outpace other countries’ commodities unless itmakes scientific and technological breakthroughs in agriculture, Tuansaid.
Director of the Centre for Agricultural PolicyConsultation, Dang Kim Khoi, said it is necessary to promote theproduction of quality goods, adding that Vietnam should step up coffeetree re-cultivation and the planting of first-rate rice varieties, curbthe expansion of rubber tree areas, and control the supply of tra fish.He also asked for the development of the support industry and processingtechnology.
Other experts suggested the countryprovide aid to exporters to counter the impact of the exchange rate. Theaid can be in the form of reducing value added tax and enterpriseincome tax, widening credit limits, and assisting in transport expensesand trade promotion.-VNA
