Fresh co-operation opportunities for Vietnamese and EU firms
VOV.VN - A Vietnam – European Union (EU) agricultural business forum was held on July 11 to mark the official visit to Vietnam by EU Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski.
The forum featured the participation of senior officials of both sides, along with approximately 50 European firms specialising in areas such as wine, beverages, meat and meat products, agricultural products, as well as fruit and vegetables.
This can be viewed as a prime opportunity in which Vietnamese businesses can meet and discuss new co-operation opportunities with European partners.
Appreciating the initiative to organise the forum, Wojciechowski said that his trip to Vietnam and Singapore is designed to ramp up joint ties in agricultural and food trading within the frameworks of signed free trade agreements.
According to him, his working visit to the nation comes at a time when the EU hopes to facilitate trade in exchanges and agreements between European and Vietnamese companies operating in the agri-food industry.
Speaking at the forum, Pham Tan Cong, chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), said that currently, the EU represents the third largest export market of Vietnamese agricultural products with a turnover of roughly US$5.5 billion annually. The bloc therefore accounted for 15% of the nation’s total agricultural export value in 2021, but making up only 4% of the EU’s total agricultural import value.
The figures remain far below the country’s export potential, as well as the import demand of EU countries, stressed Cong.
He therefore expressed his hope that through the forum, the EU side will share information and experience, as well as supporting the nation in building agricultural development policies and models in a green, modern, and effective direction to reduce the impacts of climate change on agricultural activities.
The VCCI representative affirmed the agency’s resolute resolve to actively support EU firms.
Representatives from Vietnamese State management agencies proposed that European investors pay greater attention to several dynamic economic zones, such as Hung Yen, Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, and Hai Duong, all of which are near Hanoi and boast both good infrastructure and abundant labour.