Hanoi (VNA) – Mexico’s Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, RuralDevelopment, Fisheries and Food (Sagarpa) and the Mexican Embassy in Vietnamco-hosted a seminar in Hanoi on April 27, discussing business and investmentcooperation opportunities in the food sector between Vietnam and Mexico.

Addressingthe event, Mexican Ambassador to Vietnam Sara Valdes Bolano said that bothMexico and Vietnam are well-known for agricultural products. Mexico can supplyVietnam with high quality products at reasonable prices, she said.

Mexico is nowthe world’s 15th biggest food exporter and the biggest avocadoproducer, she noted, adding that Mexico is also famous for strawberry, bananaand beef. The country’s food production growth reached 13 percent in 2017, theambassador noted.

The Sagarpaand the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam have workedtogether to finalise a memorandum of understanding on plant protection and foodproducts, and another on researching and importing fresh products, she said.

The signingof the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership(CPTPP) is expected to promote the trading of agricultural products between thetwo countries, said the ambassador.

A Sagarparepresentative said that Mexico has exported food products to 160 countries inthe world with more than 290 agricultural products, such as avocado, potato,lemon, strawberry, mango and watermelon.

At theevent, Mexican businesses introduced their strong products. Meanwhile, manyVietnamese firms held that the event is a good chance for them to explore theMexican market and seek partnership with their Mexican peers.

Accordingto the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Mexico is the third biggest tradepartner of Vietnam in the Latin America region, with two-way trade growingrapidly. Vietnam has enjoyed trade surplus in the market for years.

In thefirst nine months of 2017, trade between Vietnam and Mexico reached 2.2 billionUSD, including 1.8 billion USD worth of Vietnamese exports and 405.3 millionUSD worth of imports.

The twocountries shared favourable conditions for boosting economic cooperation asthey both are members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum and CPTPP.

Vietnam iskeen on fostering cooperation with Mexico in rice and aquaculture, along withscience, technology, pharmaceuticals, education-training, and climate changeresponse.-VNA