Vietnam agricultural products’ quality to meet Chinese high standards
- Written by Media Outreach
Agriculture has always been a key area of focus for both governments. Recently, the leaders have expressed very open-minded views, facilitating the opening of official agricultural exports and enhancing agricultural trade, thereby promoting economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.
During the visit of Vietnam's General Secretary and President Tô Lâm to China in August, the Chinese government affirmed its willingness to boost imports of Vietnamese agricultural products and facilitate trade promotion offices, creating favourable conditions for high-quality Vietnamese agricultural products into its market.
China's high demand for quality Vietnamese agricultural products
At the 12th session of the Vietnam-China Economic and Trade Cooperation Committee in November 2023, Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao highlighted China's strong demand for Vietnam's high-quality agricultural goods.
During the Vietnamese Fruit Festival in China in September, Deputy Director of the Asian Affairs Department under China's Ministry of Commerce emphasised that many Vietnamese fruits, including durians, dragon fruits, bananas and mangoes, have already established a strong presence in China's 1.4 billion-strong market.
Food products produced in Vietnam, including coffee and pho, have also gained significant popularity among Chinese consumers.
Along with the implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement and the continuous upgrading of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement, cooperation between the two countries in technology, standards and agricultural production has been developing more deeply.
With a population of over 1.4 billion and a rapidly growing middle class, China is a major market for many high-quality agricultural, forestry and aquatic products. However, Vietnam accounts for less than 5 per cent of China's total import value of this group of products.
Given the growing consumer preference and demand for Vietnamese agricultural products and food, the opportunities for cooperation and increased exports of Vietnamese agricultural products are immense. This is a prime chance for Vietnamese businesses to expand their market share for high-quality agricultural, forestry and fishery products in China.
13 Vietnamese fruits are being exported to China. Of these, seven kinds of agricultural products have been exported under the form of signing the protocol, including watermelon, mangosteen, black jelly, fresh banana, fresh coconut, and sweet potato. In comparison, six traditional kinds of fruit have not yet been standardised by export protocols, including dragon fruit, rambutan, mango, litchi, longan and jackfruit. Separately, passion fruit and chilli are being exported on a pilot basis.
The Vietnam-China agricultural, forestry and fishery trade reached US$9.3 billion in the first seven months, an increase of 16.2 per cent year-on-year. These developments are crucial as agricultural products are a traditional commodity group and are integral to the livelihoods of millions of Vietnamese farmers.
Enhancing the quality to meet China's import standards
To continue affirming the quality, reputation and market accessibility of Vietnamese agricultural products, Vietnam will enhance and monitor the quality of agricultural exports to meet China's import requirements. The focus will be on regularly updating information on market demand and China's regulations regarding quality standards, food safety and disease prevention, and strictly managing and supervising product quality and traceability to ensure compliance with Chinese regulations.
It also includes strengthening negotiations for official exports to ensure that agricultural, forestry and fishery products are standardised, consistent in quality, packaging, labelling, food safety, traceability and branded with logos and national trademarks. Moreover, standardising cross-border trade and frequently coordinating with China to address logistical bottlenecks are also issues of concern.
Vietnam has great agricultural potential, with many agricultural products highly favoured by Chinese consumers.
With a geographically advantageous location and competitive logistics, Vietnam's fresh agricultural products, including vegetables, fruits and aquatic products can be transported to China in a short time, maintaining their natural quality and freshness. This provides Chinese consumers with access to high-quality agricultural products from Vietnam at reasonable prices.
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