A shrimp processing plant in Ca Mau province. (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNA) - After focusing on exporting large volumes of unprocessed goods for a longtime, more and more Vietnamese companies are now turning to export of processedand value-added products and improving their quality to penetrate globalmarkets.
According to experts, thisis a needed move if "made in Vietnam" products are to find a place inthe global distribution and value chains.
After more than a decade ofbeing the world’s largest processor and exporter of cashew nuts, the VietnamCashew Association (VCA) said it is time for the sector to change its exportstrategy to penetrate deeper into the global value chain.
This is why the sector hasdecided to reduce the import of raw cashew this year though it can result inlower exports, said VCA chairman Nguyen Duc Thanh.
"We have researchedand shifted our investment for the moment to produce more highly processedproducts such as salt-roasted cashew, cashew snacks, cashew milk, and otherproducts for export to add more value,” he said.
Le Thi Thanh Lam, deputygeneral director of Saigon Food, said her company invested in a modernproduction chain to produce more high-quality and value-added products forselling internationally.
This year, it would focuson processing seafood using a modern production chain and exporting salmonsushi, crab sushi, sea bass kirimi, horsehead fish kirimi, basa fish fillet,shrimp sushi and other products to Japan, she said.
This will be a steppingstone for the company to expand to other markets.
Many businesses are alsofocusing on expanding cultivation of organic products to capitalise on theglobal trend.
Nguyen Lam Vien, chairmanof Vinamit JSC, said the company has tied up with farmers to grow coconut,jackfruit and banana on a large scale without using chemicals.
Organic certificates wouldopen the door wide for Vietnamese farm produce to enter North America, Japanand the EU - markets that have stringent requirements in terms of products’nutritional value, safety and environment-friendliness, he said.
Tran Van Linh, chairman ofThuan Phuoc Seafood and Trading Corporation, said: “A number of Vietnameseshrimp processors have invested in producing value-added products, heralding anew export age.”
Last year, his company hadearned 91 million USD from shrimp exports compared to 75 million USD in 2016,he said.
“Export volumes were uponly 5 percent last year, but thanks to an increase in the export ofvalue-added products, which accounted for 90 percent of the exports, exportrevenues were up significantly.”
The story that the VietnamNutrition Food JSC (Nutifood) has signed a contract with Delori FoodsInternational to export its PediaPlus dissolved milk powderfor malnourished children to the US, the first time Vietnam’s milk powderwill enter such a demanding market, has brought new hope and confidence tofirms in the food sector.
Tran Thanh Hai, chairman ofNutifood, said the product has been exported to the Philippines, Myanmar, Laos,Cambodia and China.
When the product penetratedthe US market, the company’s brand prestige skyrocketed since it had met thetough quality requirements of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), hesaid.
A firm foothold in the USmarket would give the company the leverage to export to other markets, headded.
According to John Beckleyfrom Dover Brook Associates - a Process Authority recognised by the FDA andwith over 28 years of experience in assisting major food and pharmaceuticalmanufacturers and suppliers with engineering design and compliance with FDAguidelines - said Vietnamese businesses have the potential and a greatopportunity to export to the US market, especially farm produce and foodproducts.
But for that they need tocontact FDA-designated organisations to learn about its regulations, he said.
Tran Thanh Hai, Deputy Directorof the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Import-Export Department, said lastyear the country surpassed expectations by earning 214 billion USD fromexports.
But Vietnamese companiesonly contributed 30 percent of the amount, with foreign-invested firmsaccounting for the rest, he said.
The major constraint fordomestic enterprises is their inability to access markets, with many still notfamiliar with the way of doing international business, he said.
Many are unprofessional inmost things from management to marketing their products, he said.
As a result, they have noteven capitalised on the opportunities that have fallen on their lap because offree trade agreements, he said.
This year, his ministrywould continue reforming administrative procedures and removing hurdles facedby enterprises, he promised.-VNA
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