Actively bringing Vietnamese agricultural products to the world market

	National strategy on branding agricultural products needed
	Implementation of CPTPP and EVFTA: Vietnamese agricultural products overcome technical barriers to dominate global market
	Lack of traceability: Agricultural products struggle with exports to China

Ministry of Industry and Trade leaders introduced Vietnamese rice products to international customers at Foodexpo. Photo: N.H.

Difficult but many people have done it

Dr. Frauke Schmitz-Bauerdick, Chief Representative of the Federal Trade and Investment Promotion Department of Germany in Vietnam, said that Vietnamese goods were very well consumed in Germany. German consumers wear shoes made in Vietnam, wear clothes made in Vietnam, call their friends on smartphones made in Vietnam and eat shrimp, fish, and lychee grown in Vietnam.

This is great encouragement for Vietnamese businesses that have successfully exported their products to Germany and also those businesses that are trying to reach the standards of bringing goods to this market. Among Vietnam's successful exporters, PAN Group is a typical story with a series of member companies that own many famous brands not only in the country but also abroad, such as Vinaseed, Bibica, FimexVietnam, Lafooco and 584 Nha Trang.

Explaining this success, Mr. Truong PhuChien, Chairman and CEO of Bibica Company – a member of PAN Group said, with a series of member businesses, PAN Group has built a closed value chain of Farm - Food - Family. In particular, all stages of production, processing, storage and consumption are strictly controlled to ensure high quality products to consumers. According to Chien, the application of technology is the core element to ensure strict control.

Meanwhile, only available since 2012, the tea products of NTEAJSC also conquered a series of difficult markets. Mr. Nguyen Kim Cuong, Chairman of Nteasaid Ntea's success comes from its farm. Accordingly, the company's raw material area in Thai Nguyen province has been recognized to meet IFOAM agricultural standards by Biocert International. From this high-quality raw material, Ntea manufactures a variety of products such as tea bags, matcha tea and bottled water tea, thereby conquering customers in many markets such as Japan andSouth Korea.

According to experts, the opportunity to export agricultural products and foodstuffs in Vietnam is still very large, the problem is that Vietnamese businesses have to look at consumption trends and potential products in the target markets.

Mr. Kim Kee Ho, South Korea Investment Promotion Expert, said that young South Korean people tend to be single, so the demand for processed foods is huge. In particular, South Korean people who have traveled in Vietnam said they love Vietnamese cuisine and want to continue enjoying Vietnamese food in South Korea. Therefore, Vietnamese processed food will certainly have a good opportunity to be consumed in South Korea.

Meanwhile, in the EU, Mr. Matthias Ehrtmann, Representative of EuroCham pointed out a series of tariff opportunities for Vietnam's agricultural and food products after the EVFTA came into effect. With these advantages, Mr. Matthias said that all products of Vietnam have the potential to export to the EU market.

Strengthen connecting businesses with the market

According to Dr.Frauke Schmitz-Bauerdick, agreements like the CPTPP and the EVFTA have been signed that will make transactions easier, cheaper, and possibly faster in the future. But to compete in developed markets like Australia, Japan or Germany, Vietnam's food industry must comply with strict requirements on food security and quality.

In particular, in order to provide high quality food products, appropriate equipment is needed. Modern machines will help keep food products fresh, healthy, and provide a good experience for those who enjoy them. Competitive equipment is a prerequisite for creating food products that can compete in the international market. “Easier said than done. How to find the right technology, how to contact potential sellers and how to promote their own products abroad?” Ms. Frauke Schmitz-Bauerdicksaid.

Accordingly, trade fairs are a good way to connect with global and local food industry, and the latest technology in the market. More importantly, trade fairs are often the first step to contact with potential distributors and establish new trade relationships.

Regarding national trade promotion activities, Mr. Hoang Minh Chien, Deputy Director of Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency, Ministry of Industry and Trade said that every year, the State budget spent VND30 billion on trade promotion activities in the agricultural and foodstuff industry. According to statistics from businesses participating in trade promotion, in 2018, there were many contracts signed directly at trade promotion programs with a value of over US$12 million. In the near future, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will continue to organize many trade promotion activities to enhance the connection for Vietnamese manufacturing enterprises.

Meanwhile, Mr. Bui Huy Hoang, representative of Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy under the Ministry of Industry and Trade stressed the huge opportunity of exporting via e-commerce. “Through the e-commerce platform, Vietnam's Trung Nguyen coffee products have dominated the Chinese market with huge sales. A Polish dairy product also achieved sales of over US$100 million after just one year of selling on China's e-commerce platform,”said Hoang.

According to Mr. Hoang, the Department of E-Commerce and Digital Economy is preparing to complete the program to support Vietnamese enterprises to export to China via e-commerce channels. Choosing the Chinese market is due to the huge demand for goods, the world's leading e-commerce market and the habit of e-commerce transactions. At present, the Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy has officially cooperated with JD Group to build the Vietnam pavilion on JD e-commerce platform. In the domestic market, the Department also cooperated with Sendo and Viettel Post to build a national brand to support businesses to build brands.