Vietnam hopes to cooperate with Japanese businesses to improve the quality of the processing industry and agricultural products for exports, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat has said.

“Vietnam wishes to acquire experience in management, processing technology and product supply chains from Ibaraki”, Phat told Governor of Japan’s Ibaraki prefecture Hashimoto Masaru during their talks in Hanoi on October 6.

The Minister expressed his hope that the two sides would focus on technological cooperation, applying new technology to agricultural production, biotechnology, processing, and post-harvest preserving, while collaborating to increase the value of products along the processing chain between manufacture and distribution.

He highlighted that Vietnam’s agricultural sector played an important role in the country’s economy, accounting for 20 percent of the nation’s GDP due to its favourable features, including geographical characteristics, resource availability and climate, adding that the country was however currently experiencing challenges in exporting farm produce.

Hashimotor Masaru said the Japanese agriculture encounters with a lot of difficulties including human resources and consumer markets. So, the country Japan focuses on safe and high-quality agricultural production towards a profitable agriculture to attract young people to the industry.

He affirmed that Ibaraki prefecture would cooperate with Vietnam in numerous fields, starting with short-term training.

The Ibaraki prefecture delegation will visit the northern province of Nam Dinh and the southern province of Dong Thap during their visit to Vietnam.-VNA