Vietnam exports many agricultural products to the US, but mainly raw materials. This makes the export value low, not commensurate with the potential...

The US is one of Vietnam's important export markets, especially for agricultural products. However, the quantity and value of agricultural exports are not commensurate with Vietnam's potential.

RAW EXPORT, LOW VALUE

According to statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the US is currently Vietnam's largest export market. In the first 8 months of 2024, the trade surplus to the US is estimated at 68.1 billion USD, an increase of 28.6% over the same period last year. Of which, agricultural, forestry and fishery exports reached 8.58 billion USD, accounting for 21.4%, an increase of 23.5% over the same period last year, with key products such as wood, seafood, and cashew nuts.

Although Vietnamese food has been widely available in many international markets and export capacity is increasingly improved, however, to widely penetrate the US market is a challenge for Vietnamese enterprises.

The reason is that Vietnam mainly exports raw materials, packaged in large bags and without labels. From there, enterprises from other countries import them and then process them deeply, or label them with the labels of these countries.

At the workshop "US regulations in the food industry" organized by the Ho Chi Minh City Investment and Trade Promotion Center (IPTC) on September 13, 2024, Ms. Ho Thi Quyen, Deputy Director of ITPC, said that Vietnam's agricultural raw materials are often imported by US businesses or through a third party for processing and launching to the market under their brand names. Therefore, the value that Vietnamese agricultural producers and exporters earn is still not high.

“Building a brand for products is still a big problem for many businesses and the entire Vietnamese food industry,” Ms. Quyen shared.

Businesses attend the workshop "US regulations in the food industry" - Photo: TP.

Opening the market for agricultural products of both countries is one of the top priorities.

The issue of opening the market for US-Vietnam agricultural products was of particular concern during the working session between the agricultural trade delegation of more than 100 people representing US agricultural associations and businesses led by Ms. Alexis Taylor, Deputy Secretary of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam on September 12, 2024.

At the meeting, the Vietnamese side hoped that the US would continue to support in improving quarantine procedures and ensuring food safety, creating conditions for Vietnamese agricultural products to access the US market, including exporting plums to the US. Vietnam is also completing procedures to open more products such as oranges, tangerines, and seedless lemons from the US to the domestic market.

NEED TO PROMOTE PRODUCTION MODERNIZATION

Every year, the United States imports millions of tons of food from more than 200 countries and territories, accounting for about 15% of the country's total food consumption.

To take advantage of the benefits and conquer the US market, businesses need to grasp and take advantage of all the incentives and policies in the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).

One of the most important programs of FSMA is the Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP), which requires food importers to perform the necessary verification steps and then evaluate the compliance of foreign suppliers with US food safety standards.

At the workshop, speakers shared success stories of typical businesses sharing the process of exporting to the US. In particular, businesses that want to export food to the US need to proactively build a quality control mechanism through steps such as: hazard analysis, production process control, ensuring food safety, allergen control, and implementing a safe supply chain program.

To achieve this requirement, Vietnamese businesses need to modernize production, apply new technology, green and closed production processes, etc. This also requires support from the Government's incentive programs for modernizing the agricultural and food sectors, etc.

According to Mr. Dang Bui Khue, Director of Training and Certification for Sustainable Development at Tuv Nord Vietnam Co., Ltd., to control the quality of imported food, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), aiming to shift from a response mechanism to food safety incidents to a prevention mechanism.

FSMA not only affects distributors and food products in the US but also directly affects establishments that need to export to this market.

“The Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP) requires importers to carry out the necessary verification steps, then evaluate the compliance of foreign suppliers with US food safety standards,” said Mr. Khue.

According to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien, the consumption power of the American people is very large, but it is not easy for Vietnamese enterprises to conquer this market. Therefore, enterprises need to focus on building raw material areas associated with growing area codes, packaging codes, and preliminary processing and processing activities along with a systematic trade promotion strategy…

Source: VnEconomy