Officials mark the export of the first coffee batch to the EU under the EVFTA in Gia Lai province on September 16 (Photo: VNA) Gia Lai (VNA) - Thefirst batch of Vietnamese coffee destined for the EU under the EU-Vietnam FreeTrade Agreement (EVFTA) was exported on September 16.
Fourteen containers with 296 tonnes were shippedto Belgium and Germany by the Vinh Hiep Co. Ltd, based in Pleiku city in the CentralHighlands province of Gia Lai.
When the EVFTA came into force on August 1,tariffs on all coffee products from Vietnam, including unroasted, roasted, andprocessed coffee, were immediately slashed to zero percent. The EU has alsocommitted to protecting geographical indications of Vietnamese coffee.
Addressing a ceremony marking the exports,Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Quoc Doanh said coffeeis one of Vietnam’s 13 key agricultural products, and the industry contributes3 percent to GDP and provides stable incomes for over 600,000 farminghouseholds nationwide, mostly in the Central Highlands.
Vietnam has long been the world’s second-largestcoffee exporter, with annual export revenue topping 3 billion USD. Its coffee isnow found in more than 80 countries and territories, and the EU is the largest importer,accounting for 40 percent and 38 percent of total export volume and value,respectively.
Noting the initial positive outcomes from theEVFTA, Doanh said coffee shipments to the EU approximated 76 million USD inAugust, up 34.7 percent month-on-month.
The coffee industry will work harder to meet EUrequirements, especially those relating to quality and sustainable development,to turn Vietnam - the world’s largest Robusta coffee grower - into a referencepoint for global Robusta production, the deputy minister added./.
VNA
