Up to 100,000 tonnes of Vietnamese rice will be shipped to the EU each year tax-free in 2018 following the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement, helping local rice exporters penetrate the market.
Hanoi (VNA) – Up to 100,000 tonnes of Vietnamese rice will be shipped to the EU eachyear tax-free in 2018 following the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement, helpinglocal rice exporters penetrate the market. However, it remainsto be seen if Vietnamese businesses can take advantage of this opportunity as theEU has strict technical barriers which most may struggle to satisfy, accordingto Lam Tuan Anh, Director of Thinh Phat Ltd., Co. Only firms which havetheir own material areas and can control rice quality from cultivation toprocessing can access the market, Tuan Anh said, explaining that rice is asensitive staple that is not included in many other free trade agreements. Despite being theworld’s third largest rice exporter, Vietnam is still in the early stages ofbuilding an image in the EU. Experts said theEU is a promising market because of local consumers’ high living standards. Although only afew rice exporting countries compete in the market such as Myanmar, Cambodiaand Thailand, they all have good quality rice, experts said, urging Vietnam tocreate a brand name for its rice. Vietnam’sCommercial Affairs Office in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Iceland andLatvia, suggested Vietnamese businesses pay more heed to food safety to delivertheir rice to Sweden and other Northern European countries. Vietnam’s riceexports to the region have remained limited in turnover and varieties,according to the office. Although demandfor rice in Northern Europe is not huge, the region could be a promising marketfor Vietnamese rice if the country receives trade incentives and satisfyslocals’ taste, a representative from the office said. Vietnam has a hugeopportunity to export farm produce like rice, vegetable, fruit and honey to theEU. The Netherlands, Vietnam’sthird largest rice importer in the EU, just behind Germany and the UK, isexpected to serve as a gateway helping Vietnamese products go in other EUcountries. Many experts saidthat the Vietnamese Government should look to policy support and trade promotionto boost rice exports to the EU and Northern Europe in particular.
Vietnamexported 1.1 million tonnes of rice in the first quarter of this year, down 23percent in volume and 18 percent in value compared to the same period lastyear.
♎ Chinaremained the largest rice importer in the period at 448,000 tonnes, 41 percentof total rice exports, followed by the Philippines and Africa with 20 percentand 13 percent, respectively.-VNA
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Illustrative photo (Source: VNA) 
