The Vietnamese Ministry of Trade is conducting a project to promote the export of Vietnamese vegetables. Deputy Trade Minister Tran Duc Minh had a talk with Vietnam Business Forum about this issue.
Will the new project help solve difficulties that enterprises are facing?
One or two projects cannot completely solve all the shortcomings of the fruit and vegetable sector. Solving difficulties needs the concern and support from the Government and the Provincial People’s Committees as well as enterprises. The ministries of trade, agriculture and rural development, and planning and investment and provincial people’s committees are developing a master project to support the restructuring of the production and exportation of the sector, which will be submitted to the Government for approval. In the project, we ask the Government to give financial aid to localities to pilot a synchronous production and exportation model. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will instruct cultivation, the Ministry of Trade will guide exportation and the Ministry of Planning and Investment direct farming plans while enterprises and farmers contribute investment to the project.
The Ministry of Trade forecast that global tropical fruit imports would grow on average by eight per cent per annum in the 2000 – 2010 period, and the import volume will reach 4.3 million tons in 2010, 87 per cent, or 3.8 million tons of which will be imported by developing nations.
Potential areas will be supported to become models. If these models are successful, they will be replicated nationwide. The project also highlights the regional cooperation needed to set up a large-enough cultivation area to meet export demands. However, the number of piloted areas must remain under consideration.
In the short term, what should the Vietnamese fruit and vegetable sector do to avoid losing current markets while the new project is being completed?
Recently, I visited Singapore together with a Vietnamese business delegation to promote exportation of fruits and vegetables. Positively, 15 Singaporean firms will arrive in Vietnam in April to survey the market and place orders.
In the short term, we are trying to maintain supporting activities for the trade promotions for the fruit and vegetable industry. We are boosting trade promotions in Japan, Singapore, China and South Korea. Later, enterprises from these countries will arrive in Vietnam to survey the market and sign contracts with Vietnamese fruit firms. Although Vietnam is weak at fresh fruit export, it has strong points in exporting canned fruits and vegetables. This affirms the development tendency of the Vietnamese fruit and vegetable processing industry.
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