Vietnam is the third biggest supplier of aquatic products to China with about 1.2 – 1.3 billion USD worth of these commodities shipped to China annually (Photo: VNA)HCM City (VNA) – Vietnamese businesses have beenurged to change their production and export methods to boost shipments to China– a big but increasingly demanding market for agricultural imports.
At a workshop in Ho Chi Minh City on March 28,Vice Chairman of the High-Quality Vietnamese Product Business Association CaoLam Vien said China has strong purchasing power thanks to its fast economicgrowth and rising per capita income that approximated 10,000 USD in 2018.
Data of the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture andRural Affairs show the country imported more than 137 billion USD worth ofagricultural products in 2018, including 3 million tonnes of rice, nearly 5million tonnes of cassava chips, 1.2 million tonnes of pork and 1 milliontonnes of beef. It also imported 14.8 billion USD worth of aquatic products,8.4 billion USD of fresh fruits and more than 830 million USD of vegetables.
These figures indicate that China’s demand foragro-aquatic products is huge, presenting an opportunity for major agro-aquaticexporting countries like Vietnam, Vien noted.
According to the General Department of VietnamCustoms, Vietnam exports about 1.2 – 1.3 billion USD worth of aquatic productsto China annually, making it the third biggest supplier of these commodities tothe market. Meanwhile, China is the fourth largest market for Vietnameseaquatic products.
Vien said for the last 30 years, trade betweenthe two countries has been conducted mainly via unofficial small-scale channelsover the border. This form of trading poses many risks in terms of paymentwhile making it difficult to control products’ quality and quantity.Additionally, agricultural producers and exporters of Vietnam have yet to paydue attention to trademark registration in China to join official distributionsystems.
Recently, China has tightened food safetyregulations and demanded businesses import goods via official channels.Meanwhile, Vietnam’s agricultural products are also facing fierce competitionfor similar commodities of other countries.
The official called on Vietnamese firms tochange their production and export methods, noting that they should ensuretheir products meet China’s new requirements in terms of quality, origintraceability, packaging, labeling and barcodes.
He also suggested they take part in prestigiousfairs of China such as the SIAL expo in Shanghai and the China-ASEAN Expo inGuangxi, or agriculture trade fairs so as to access big partners and clients.They also need to make use of e-commerce to diversify their distributionchannels in the market.
Secretary-General of the Vietnam Association ofSeafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) Truong Dinh Hoe said China’s tightenedcontrol of food safety and unofficial small-scale trading is a challenge andbut also a chance for Vietnam’s agro-aquatic products to improve.
At present, export through sea routes fromVietnam, especially southern localities, to China is increasingly favourablethanks to cheaper costs, and 2019 will offer opportunities to boost sea exportsto China, he noted.
He asked managerial agencies to control productquality by examining and granting quality certificates for goods destined forChina because 80 percent of Vietnamese aquatic products are currently exportedto this market via unofficial channels which do notrequest quality certificates. They should also provide businesses with timelyupdates on the market’s import policies.-VNA
VNA
