USDA’s Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Alexis Taylor delivers a speech at the ‘Alaska Seafood Reception’ on February 27. (Photo: VNA) . A collaboration betweenthe US Department of Agriculture/Foreign Agricultural Service, the US Embassyin Vietnam, and the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI), the ‘AlaskaSeafood Reception’ is part of ASMI’s Vietnam Trade Mission. Representatives of14 ASMI member companies participated in the event, comprising fishingfirms, seafood processors, seafood wholesalers, and distributors.
Speaking at the opening,USDA’s Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Alexis Taylorsaid the department chose Vietnam as a joint destination to showcase theimportance of the bilateral agricultural trade between the two countries.
“Vietnam is a dynamicand growing market for US products. In 2022, bilateral agricultural tradereached almost 10 billion USD," she said.
"We see so muchopportunity to continue to grow as partners in agricultural development andtrade."
According to Taylor, Vietnam’sexpanding middle class, the availability of fine dining opportunities, and itsfive-star tourism industry make this a prime destination for Alaska seafood.
“Vietnam is also home tostate-of-the-art processing facilities that can create new and innovativevalued added seafood products, using Alaskan seafood,” the Under Secretaryadded.
Answering mediaquestions about the technical barriers to importing and exporting agriculturalproducts between Vietnam and the US, USDA’s Under Secretary for Marketing andRegulatory Programs Jenny Mofitt, said that the US is always very muchinterested in making sure mutually both countries and the agriculture of eachcountry is safe and protected.
She said: “As we fostersafe trade, it's important that we really focus on the safety part. So we willmake sure that we are exporting our animals and any products to Vietnam, we'renot introducing new diseases that are here in Vietnam, and then the same aswell for trade from Vietnam to the US. Any animal diseases or plant diseasesmight not be established in the United States or in Vietnam.”
Mofitt also said that the USDA has a verystrong relationship with the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture, adding: “As wetalk about this bilateral trade, address the technical issues that we do havewith each other, and find solutions to be able to facilitate that safe trade,at the same time making sure that our industries and our natural resources inour respective countries are protected.”/.
VNA
