Speakers chat during a break at a meeting on imports and exports of agroforestry products between Vietnam and China held on June 20 in HCM City (Photo: VNA)HCM City (VNA) - Vietnamese exports of agricultural products must meetfood safety, quality and traceability requirements to China which now requiresthat exports be sent through official channels only, heard a recent workshop inHo Chi Minh City.
Tran Thanh Nam, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, said thatVietnamese producers must change their mindset about China and improveproduction to meet new market requirements.
He noted that businesses in the past thought China was an easy market becauseof lax regulations and border control. However, that is no longer the case asstandards are now much higher.
Nam spoke at the June 20 workshop on food safety and management of imports andexports of agro-forestry-fishery products between the two countries.
With a market size of up to 1.4 billionpeople, China is the major export market for agricultural, forestry and fisheryproducts from Vietnam.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has been working closely withthe General Department of Customs of China to remove obstacles and organisemarket information meetings, according to Nam.
"Enterprises must ensure the quality of goods, traceability of origin, andpackaging labels similar to those of difficult markets such as the US, Europe,Japan, Australia and Canada, where Vietnamese businesses have followed the sameregulations," he said.
Dao Viet Anh, Vietnam's Commercial Counsellor in China, said China will continueto be a potential export market for Vietnam due to rising demand and purchasingpower.
The Chinese government is encouraging the import of goods via official channelsto meet the needs of its people, he said.
However, to comply with the new requirements of the market, Vietnamese farmersand businesses must change production and business methods, he said.
Dang Phuc Nguyen, Secretary General of the Vietnam Fruit and VegetablesAssociation, said the Chinese market now accounts for nearly 70 percent of thetotal export turnover of fruits and vegetables from Vietnam.
Currently, the vegetable and fruit production industry in Vietnam is stillsmall scale, and the percentage of farms applying VietGAP and GlobalGAPstandards is still modest.
In addition, the excessive use of chemicals and substances has not beenstrictly controlled, Nguyen said.
China is the main export market for Vietnamese vegetables and fruits, he said,adding this is no longer an easy market.
Vo Quan Huy, Director of the Huy Long An – My Binh Ltd Company, said thatchanges in China’s import policy are not barriers to Vietnam'sagro-forestry-fishery products as Vietnamese enterprises have been able toexport the products to markets with stricter standards than China's, such asJapan, the Republic of Korea and the US.
The problem is that Vietnamese enterprises need to change their perceptionabout the Chinese market, which now requires higher standards.
Chinese living standards have improved significantly, so their demand forhigh-quality products has also increased.
Vietnamese producers and businesses must aim at this high-end market segmentfrom China, he added.
Last year, Vietnam's fruit and vegetable export turnover to China reached 3.8billion USD. However, in the first six months of this year, exports to Chinafell slightly compared to the same period last year, reaching only 1.2 billionUSD.
He attributed the drop to stricter requirements via official channels and theneed to meet technical and quality standards, which most businesses have failedto meet, he said.
Long Yushan from the Nanning Customs Bureau under the General Administration ofCustoms of China, said that Chinese agencies are providing information onregulations on animal and plant management and quarantine, especially fordairy, aquatic products and fruits.
Last year Vietnam exported 8.6 billion USD worth of agro-forestry-fisheryproducts to China. As of the end of April, Vietnam had earned 2.64 billion USD fromexporting agro-forestry-fishery products to China, a year-on-year decline of8.3 percent.
Three groups of goods - fruits and vegetables, rubber, wood and wooden products– saw export turnover surpassing the 1 billion USD benchmark.
Vietnam spent 2.47 billion USD importing farm produce from China last year.
At present, nine fresh fruits from Vietnam are shipped through officialchannels to China, namely dragon fruit, watermelon, lychee, longan, banana,mango, jackfruit, rambutan and mangosteen.
The ministry is proposing that China open its market for other Vietnamesefruits such as durian, passion fruit, avocado, grapefruit, coconut, custardapple, and rose apple.-VNA
Tran Thanh Nam, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, said thatVietnamese producers must change their mindset about China and improveproduction to meet new market requirements.
He noted that businesses in the past thought China was an easy market becauseof lax regulations and border control. However, that is no longer the case asstandards are now much higher.
Nam spoke at the June 20 workshop on food safety and management of imports andexports of agro-forestry-fishery products between the two countries.
With a market size of up to 1.4 billionpeople, China is the major export market for agricultural, forestry and fisheryproducts from Vietnam.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has been working closely withthe General Department of Customs of China to remove obstacles and organisemarket information meetings, according to Nam.
"Enterprises must ensure the quality of goods, traceability of origin, andpackaging labels similar to those of difficult markets such as the US, Europe,Japan, Australia and Canada, where Vietnamese businesses have followed the sameregulations," he said.
Dao Viet Anh, Vietnam's Commercial Counsellor in China, said China will continueto be a potential export market for Vietnam due to rising demand and purchasingpower.
The Chinese government is encouraging the import of goods via official channelsto meet the needs of its people, he said.
However, to comply with the new requirements of the market, Vietnamese farmersand businesses must change production and business methods, he said.
Dang Phuc Nguyen, Secretary General of the Vietnam Fruit and VegetablesAssociation, said the Chinese market now accounts for nearly 70 percent of thetotal export turnover of fruits and vegetables from Vietnam.
Currently, the vegetable and fruit production industry in Vietnam is stillsmall scale, and the percentage of farms applying VietGAP and GlobalGAPstandards is still modest.
In addition, the excessive use of chemicals and substances has not beenstrictly controlled, Nguyen said.
China is the main export market for Vietnamese vegetables and fruits, he said,adding this is no longer an easy market.
Vo Quan Huy, Director of the Huy Long An – My Binh Ltd Company, said thatchanges in China’s import policy are not barriers to Vietnam'sagro-forestry-fishery products as Vietnamese enterprises have been able toexport the products to markets with stricter standards than China's, such asJapan, the Republic of Korea and the US.
The problem is that Vietnamese enterprises need to change their perceptionabout the Chinese market, which now requires higher standards.
Chinese living standards have improved significantly, so their demand forhigh-quality products has also increased.
Vietnamese producers and businesses must aim at this high-end market segmentfrom China, he added.
Last year, Vietnam's fruit and vegetable export turnover to China reached 3.8billion USD. However, in the first six months of this year, exports to Chinafell slightly compared to the same period last year, reaching only 1.2 billionUSD.
He attributed the drop to stricter requirements via official channels and theneed to meet technical and quality standards, which most businesses have failedto meet, he said.
Long Yushan from the Nanning Customs Bureau under the General Administration ofCustoms of China, said that Chinese agencies are providing information onregulations on animal and plant management and quarantine, especially fordairy, aquatic products and fruits.
Last year Vietnam exported 8.6 billion USD worth of agro-forestry-fisheryproducts to China. As of the end of April, Vietnam had earned 2.64 billion USD fromexporting agro-forestry-fishery products to China, a year-on-year decline of8.3 percent.
Three groups of goods - fruits and vegetables, rubber, wood and wooden products– saw export turnover surpassing the 1 billion USD benchmark.
Vietnam spent 2.47 billion USD importing farm produce from China last year.
At present, nine fresh fruits from Vietnam are shipped through officialchannels to China, namely dragon fruit, watermelon, lychee, longan, banana,mango, jackfruit, rambutan and mangosteen.
The ministry is proposing that China open its market for other Vietnamesefruits such as durian, passion fruit, avocado, grapefruit, coconut, custardapple, and rose apple.-VNA
VNA
