Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong speaks at the meeting. (Source: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Though Vietnam is among theworld’s top exporters of farming produces, 90 percent of the products areexported in the raw form with quality and value lower than many foreign rivals,said Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong in arecent meeting.
Cuong voiced his concern at the International SupportPolicy (ISG) Plenary Meeting held by the Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment in Hanoi on December 11, focusing on the theme “Global AgriculturalValue Chains: Promotion of Food Safety and Market Linkages”.
Vietnam has remained among the world’s top 15agricultural suppliers with products shipped to 180 countries and territories. Thecountry’s export of agricultural, forestry and seafood products reached 32billion USD in 2016 and is likely to hit 36 billion USD this year.
But when sold in the global market, many of theseproducts come under no brand names or foreign brands, the minister said,stressing that it is a major setback, hindering Vietnam’s effort to become moreengaged in the global agricultural value chains.
The local agricultural industry has faced a number ofissues, particularly small-scale production, inefficient use of inputs andresources and limited use of high technology. The processing sector has barelygrown in recent years with just about 25-30 percent of agribusinesses possessingadvanced processing technology.
Meanwhile, World Bank Director Ousmane Dione believedfood safety poses the biggest challenge to Vietnam. The country still lackssets of national standards for food safety as well as limited knowledge on theissue, he noted, adding that there are very few laboratories for food safetytesting in Vietnam while monitoring programmes are not effective enough.
No single solution can ensure food safety but acomprehensive set of measures are needed and there should be more publicinvestment in promotion of food safety, Dione said.
Minister Nguyen Xuan Cuong said Vietnam has beenrestructuring the agricultural sector between 2017 and 2020 with aims toimprove quality, productivity and competitiveness of the country’s farmingproducts and create better links between production and distribution towardssustainable development and an agriculture industry with high added value.-VNA
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