Illustrative image (Source: VNA)
HCM City (VNA) – The big gap between production and market demand for processed food means there are good prospects for investment in the processing industry, experts said at a workshop in Ho Chi Minh City on November 16 to promote investment in food processing.
Food consumption accounts for about 15 percent of Vietnam’s annual GDP, and it increased by 18 percent in 2015. Meanwhile, the food processing and beverage production respectively grew by 8.5 percent and 7.4 percent the same year.
Vietnam is a world leading exporter of agricultural products, which means the food industry holds great development prospects not only in the domestic market but also the foreign ones, said Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Ho Thi Kim Thoa.
Bui Huy Son, Director of the ministry’s Trade Promotion Agency, said Vietnam’s signing of economic partnership agreements with other countries opened up a vast market for domestic and foreign- invested companies in this industry.
Claudio Dordi, an expert at the European Trade Policy and Investment Support Project (EU-MUTRAP), was of the opinion that there remain many shortcomings in the local food processing industry, such as small-scale production, slow restructuring in agriculture and the rampant use of chemicals and pesticides. However, Vietnam can make use of an abundant workforce and fresh materials to assist the growth of this industry.
Dang Xuan Quang, Deputy Director of the Foreign Investment Agency, admitted that the local food processing hasn’t been attractive to foreign investment. There were 521 FDI projects worth 7.6 billion USD in this industry as of the end of October this year.
To promote foreign investment in food processing, experts advised that local authorities develop zones supplying agricultural materials to serve investors, bolster technology transfer, and try to sign more mutual recognition agreements on processed food quality examination.-VNA
