The European Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) will pave the way for their agricultural products, including fruits, meat and dairy, to enter the Vietnamese market. (Photo: zing.vn) Hanoi (VNA) – The European agriculture producers are expecting theEuropean Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) to take effect soon as it will pavethe way for their agricultural products, including fruits, meat and dairy, to enterthe Southeast Asian market with a population of 93 million.
A delegation of 65 enterprises from Flanders, Belgium will visit Vietnam fromMay 13-18 to seek business cooperation opportunities with their partners.
Philippe Appeltans, a representative from VBT fruit and vegetable export firm,noted that his company wants to bring the best quality products to Vietnamesemarket.
Belgium purchases various kinds of fruits from Vietnam and also hopes tobolster farm produce exports to the market, he said, highlighting that the twocountries see great potential for promoting trade and investment cooperation astheir goods are mutually complementary.
Meanwhile, Exportslachthuis De Coster expressed its hope to shake hands withVietnamese partners to sell slaughtered products which are favoured byVietnamese consumers.
Vietnam is a potential market for livestock and poultry meat and this offersgreat opportunities for Belgian suppliers, representative from the companysaid.
Earlier, during a tour to study Vietnamese food and farm produce market in theend of 2017, 30 French enterprises said that they made meticulous preparationsto bring their products to Vietnam to take advantage of the EVFTA.
According to a trade counsellor of the French Embassy in Vietnam, necessaryprocedures are being completed to ship the first batch of potatoes to Vietnamin 2018.
The Vietnamese market will be a fertile land for imported farm produce thanksto the increasing number of middle-class consumers who prefer high-qualityproducts.
According to the General Department of Vietnam Customs, Vietnam splashed out38.9 million USD on purchasing 24,500 tonnes of various kinds of meat in March,up 63.7 percent in value and 94.1 percent in volume from the previous month.
Also, the country spent 1.55 billion USD on fruit and vegetable imports, up62.7 percent from the same time last year. Most of the imports were longan,mangosteen, durian, tamarind, pear and apple.
As foreign farm produce will put pressure on domestic businesses, localproducers should work to make substantial changes so that their products willbecome competitive in both quality and price.-VNA
VNA
