Agro-fishery firms explore Finnish, North European markets

Vietnamese firms were instructed to export agro-fishery products to Finnish and North European markets during a conference in Ho Chi Minh City on April 20.
Vietnamese firms were instructed to export agro-fishery products toFinnish and North European markets during a conference in Ho Chi MinhCity on April 20.

According to Tran Viet Cuong,Deputy Head of the Vietnam Sanitary and Phytosanitary NotificationAuthority under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, theagro-fishery sector’s export value depends more on volume than price.

The majority of Vietnamese agricultural enterprisesare small, with under-10-employee firms mounting to 44 percent andover-300-employee businesses accounting for only 3.47 percent, he noted,adding that 82 percent of companies have less than 20 billion VND(926,000 USD) in capital.

Cuong held that theproject to support the export of Vietnamese agro-fishery products toFinland and Northern Europe, funded by the Fund for Local Cooperationthrough the Finnish Embassy in Vietnam, plays an important role inhelping the sector expand its market.

The project isexpected to give technical assistance and market information toVietnamese enterprises, enabling them to reach their partners moreeasily, he said.

Agro-fishery exporters across thenation will benefit from the project, especially those in Hanoi , HoChi Minh City and Mekong Delta localities, asserted Cuong.

During the conference, Vietnamese and foreign experts also providedbusinesses with basic information and practical guidelines in exportactivities for aquatic products and fruit to the targeted markets.

They also introduced activities to support Vietnamese firms, includingseeking Finnish partners through the Finnartnership businessconnectivity programme, sponsoring them to expand investment andoperation as well as develop their capacity to meet internationalcommercial practice requirements.

By the end of2014, trade between Vietnam and Finland was over 260 million USD, a15 percent rise from the previous year, with Vietnamese exports worthmore than 100 million USD.

Major Vietnam earnersincluded garments and textiles, computers, electronic products and spareparts, machineries, plastic products, and footwear materials andleather. The country imported electronic products and spare parts,machineries, equipment, paper, chemicals and steel from Finland .

By the end of March this year, Finland had 10 projects in Vietnamwith total investment of 235 million USD, making it the 29 th largestinvestor in Vietnam.-VNA

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