Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnam is working to accelerate agricultural exports as growingglobal protectionism has impacted international trade and export of Vietnamesestaples.

Rough seas for Vietnamese agriculturalproducts

To protect its domestic catfish industry, the US Department of Commerce decidedto levy duties of 3.87 USD per kilogramme for Vietnamese tra fish. This is thehighest tax rate ever applied for Vietnamese frozen catfish fillets, making itdifficult for local exporters to access the US market.

According to Truong Dinh Hoe, General Secretary of Vietnam Association ofSeafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), Vietnamese shrimp and fish have beentaxed at an unfair anti-dumping rate since 2003 when Vietnam’s seafood exportsonly reached 1-2 billion USD a year.

Other seafood products like tra fish and tuna have been subjected to rigorousscrutiny before they are allowed to reach US consumers. Tra fish is examinedfrom breeding, harvesting to processing and export processes under the catfishexamination programme carried out from August, 2017.

Meanwhile, tuna product must receive a “dolphin safe” label from the EarthIsland Institute before entering the US.

Taking effect from the outset of this year, the US National Oceanic andAtmospheric Administration’s Seafood Import Monitoring Programme sets outreporting and recordkeeping requirements for 13 imported seafood products, whichwas said to prevent illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU)-caught seafoodfrom coming to the US.

The US has filed 25 anti-dumping petitions on Vietnamese products so far, saidChu Thang Trung, deputy director of the Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnamunder the Ministry of Industry and Trade. As most Vietnamese small-medium sizedfirms lack experience in safeguard measures, they may face fierce competitionand lose market share.

Apart from seafood, Vietnam also experienced stagnant exports of pepper beans toIndia, the second largest importer of Vietnamese pepper. The Indian governmenthas prohibited pepper imports to protect local farmers since the end of March.

In other markets, technical standards and high quality requirement for productshave been billed as major barriers for exports.

Responding measures

According to Vietnamese trade counsellor in the EU and Belgium Nguyen CanhCuong, foreign experts should be invited to help local businesses improvetechnical standards.

At the 2018 Trade Counsellor Conference held in Ho Chi Minh City in thebeginning of the year, Cuong highlighted that the experts have huge impact onthe behaviours of the consumers in their countries and will serve as effective“media ambassadors” for the Vietnamese goods.

Meanwhile, Hoe believed that besides negative influence, protectionism setsbetter standards for quality and food safety and hygiene. Thus, it is a mustfor Vietnamese to enhance food safety measures and improve quality to overcometechnical barriers.

Le Nguyen Hoa, Vice Chairman of NutiFood JSC, said that studies of market tasteand investment in production chains are crucial for any business that wants togain a foothold overseas.

Trung recommended Vietnamese exporters study trade policies in foreign marketsand create good relations with their partners to forecast trade risks.

“Petitions will leave significant losses for both businesses and the wholesector. Thus, enterprises should join hands to take advantage of marketopportunities and have timely response to trade breakdowns”, Trung noted.-VNA