Rice varieties introduced to Hong Kong's firms at the seminar (Photo: VNA) Can Tho (VNA) – Thirty importers from Hong Kong (China) said theywant to enhance rice trade with Vietnamese partners while attending a seminarheld in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho on November 5.
According to Chairman of Rice Merchants Association of Hong Kong Kenneth Chan, theHong Kong business delegation came to Can Tho to study Vietnamese ricevarieties and seek information on Vietnamese exporters.
Following the global rice crisis in 2008, the amount ofrice Hong Kong purchased from Vietnam increased significantly, from 0.5 percentof the territory’s total rice imports in 2008 to 42 percent in 2013, he said.
Statistics showed that Vietnamese rice accounted for 30 percent of Hong Kong’s totalrice imports in the first nine months of 2019, which show the competitivenessand popularity of Vietnamese rice in the Hong Kong market, he underlined.
Vice President and Secretary General of the Vietnam Food Association NguyenTrung Kien said that Hong Kong has become an important market for Vietnameserice in recent years, buying mostly Jasmine, Nang Hoa and KDM rice.
During January-September, Hong Kong imported around 90,000 tonnes of rice fromVietnam at higher prices as compared to rice from other countries, and theregion is forecast to buy 90,000 to 120,000 tonnes of Vietnamese rice in 2020,according to Kien.
Kien suggested local firms to pay due attention to rice processing, qualitymanagement and food safety so as to meet stringent requirements of the HongKong market.
According to a report from Can Tho city’s Department of Industry and Trade, thecity sold 29.6 million USD worth of rice, seafood, garment and textile andprocessed agricultural products to Hong Kong in the first nine months of theyear. Of the total amount, rice export brought home 6.6 million USD.
Director of the department Nguyen Minh Toai said that Can Tho is able to ship1-1.2 million tonnes of rice abroad each year. In addition, local businesseshave built high-quality material zones with many rice varieties qualified toenter fastidious markets like Hong Kong, Japan and the EU.
He expressed his hope that businesses from both sides will take full advantageof the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement, which came into force on June 11,2019, so as to boost two-way trade and set up long-term trade cooperationties./.
VNA
