Hanoi (VNA)ꦛ – Vietnam looks to enhance the values of its agriculturalproducts in order to ensure sustainable exports via official channels amid theprocess of international integration.

NguyenDo Anh Tuan, Director of the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agricultureand Rural Development, said Vietnam’s agricultural products lack in quality andbranding, which hinders their official access to big markets. Therefore, Vietnameseagricultural producers need to change their mindsets and productioncapabilities in order to meet the demands and standards of those markets, hesuggested. HuyLong An Co. Ltd., based in the Mekong Delta province of Long An, is among thepioneering exporters of agricultural products to Japan and the Republic ofKorea, earning millions of USD per year. Accordingto Vo Quan Huy, Director of the Huy Long An Co. Ltd., in order to ship agriculturalproducts to these two strict markets via official channels, the company mustensure that over 200 ha of its banana farms meet not only the VietGAP standards,but also hundreds of criteria of the two markets in terms of land, watering,fertilisers, and daily nursing. Meanwhile,Pham Viet Anh from the GlobalGAP representative office in Vietnam confirmed thatin order to gain official export contracts, Vietnamese products need to meetnot only VietGAP standards but also GlobalGAP criteria. He advised Vietnamesefarmers to work with cooperatives and enterprises to ensure their products’quality. Anhalso suggested the Government establish an official channel of information to regularlyand timely update domestic enterprises and cooperatives on requirements,criteria, and other technical barriers from import markets so that they canproduce accordingly. Sharingthe view, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong attachedsignificance to the quality of Vietnamese agricultural products so that theycan officially be exported to strict markets. Theministry will work closely with relevant sectors, associations, andorganisations to establish a channel to update necessary information fordomestic enterprises and cooperatives, he said. Vietnamis the world’s 15th biggest agricultural exporter, however, the sector’scurrent situation is unsustainable as most of its exports go via unofficialchannels.

Accordingto the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, only 5 percent ofVietnam’s agricultural exports meet international standards to be officiallyshipped to such strict markets as the US, EU, Japan, and the Republic of Korea.
𓆉 The rest is mainly subject to unofficial exports,particularly those over the border to China.–VNA