HCM City (VNA) – Actively seeking new potential marketswhile maintaining foothold in traditional ones is a solution to help theagricultural sector keep its growth momentum and raise export value, expertssaid at a forum for exporters of fruit and vegetable held in HCM City onFebruary 27.  

Le Thanh Hoa, Deputy Director of the Agricultural Product Processingand Market Development Department under the Ministry of Agricultureand Rural Development, underlined the leaping development of the fruit andvegetable industry in recent years, earning the country billions of USD.

According to Hoa, Vietnam has many opportunities to increase its shareof the world market for fruit and vegetable. He noted that while Vietnam isamong the top 15 exporters of farm produce, its export of fruit and vegetable accountsfor just under 1 percent of world demand.

At the same time, the sector is facing many problems, from domestic oneslike backward techniques in farming, preserving to processing, to outsidebarriers such as strict regulations on food safety and plant quarantine inimport markets.   

The biggest market for Vietnamese fruit and vegetables – China - hasalso imposed many non-tariff barriers, resulting in a 13 percent decrease inVietnam’s shipments of fruit and vegetables to this market, and a 1.7 percentreduction in the total export value of those products in 2019.

To regain the growth momentum and raise export value, experts saidexporters should quickly change their approach to traditional export marketsand proactively seek inroad into other potential markets.  

According to Nguyen Minh Phuong, Director of the Asia-Africa MarketDepartment under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Middle East and Africaare two new markets with great potential. Those two markets have largepopulations and depend on imports for farm produce.

She mentioned the differences in culture, religion and customers’ habitsin those two markets, and reminded exporters to study carefully the demand inorder to supply suitable products.

Meanwhile, many businesses are pinning hope on the EU market given theVietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement is expected to take effect soon.

Jos Leeters, Director of Bureau Leeters company, shared the view on thegreat potential of the EU market, but stressed that this market has highstandards for product quality

Participants at the forum said diversifying markets requires bothfarmers and export businesses to quickly change their way of operation to meetthe demand of many markets. They agreed that only when products can meet theincreasing high demand of consumers then can the sector achieve sustainabledevelopment./.