Vietnam looks at boosting agriculture product exports to EU

Ensuring food safety, further enhancing product promotion by attending prestigious fairs and cutting logistics costs are among ways to boost exports of Vietnamese fruits and vegetables to the EU, according to Vietnamese envoys to the EU and businesses.

Speaking at a webinar last week on exporting fruits and vegetables to the EU market, Vietnam’s agricultural counsellor to the EU, Tran Van Cong, said European countries are currently in the process of economic and consumer recovery.

With its annual fruit and vegetable imports of €35bil (RM167.7bil), accounting for 40% of global trade in the products, the EU is a promising market for Vietnam, he said.

Pham Viet Anh, Vietnam’s ambassador to the Netherlands, said although the Dutch is a small market, it has a very important position in Europe as home to wholesalers.


But very few Vietnamese fruit products are available there due to a lack of reliable supply sources, high prices and poor preservation.

If Vietnam can increase its farming area and meet the standards of the EU, more of its vegetables and fruits could enter the market, he said.

Nguyen Trung Kien, Vietnam’s ambassador to Austria, said European consumers are increasingly attaching importance to food safety and environmental protection, and vegetables and fruits not meeting these criteria would not sell in the EU.

Meanwhile, major growing areas in Vietnam such as Bac Ninh and Bac Giang face challenges related to food preservation and still use a lot of pesticides, he said.

He called for greater use of non-chemical methods for crop protection and insect control for long-term benefits.

Besides the food safety factor, the webinar heard that to promote the export of fruits and vegetables to the EU, trade promotion needs to be strengthened and logistics difficulties need to be resolved.

Thai Xuan Dung, Vietnam’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Czech Republic, said logistics costs account for a high rate of the cost of fruit and vegetable products exported to the Czech market but also the EU in general.

“Processed fruits and vegetables will bring higher added value and businesses need to invest in technology and equipment to improve the competitiveness of their products and make use of the tariff incentives under the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement to boost exports to the market.” — Viet Nam News/ANN
Join our Telegram channel to get our Evening Alerts and breaking news highlights