Vietnam sets out plans to modernise agriculture industry

Vietnam has set an ambitious target to modernise and transform agriculture in the country into a sustainable economy by 2030.

Minister of agriculture and rural development Le Minh Hoan said that would involve changing the emphasis to producing high-quality products and adding value to meet the demands of the market.

Another top priority is to improve the country’s rural infrastructure and increase the living standards of farmers, he said.

According to the ministry, Viet-nam’s agriculture sector aims for a growth target of 2.5-3.0 per cent annually until 2030 with agricultural productivity at 5.5 per cent. Seeking an increase in value of between five and six per cent a year, Vietnam is exploring potential new markets for its produce.

Mr Hoan said the objective was to transform Vietnam’s rural areas into modern, developed agricultural production centres that employ advanced and environmental-fri-endly technology by 2050.

Sweden will be high up on the list of countries where Vietnam hopes to increase market share.

An EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agree-ment (EVFTA) coming into effect has given an extra push for Vietnamese goods into the Swedish market as import tariff cuts heightens its competitiveness.

Diep Van Ty, chairman of the Vietnamese trade association in Sweden, said food and foodstuff are the biggest earners from the trade deal since the tariffs were slashed to zero as soon as it took effect.

Mr Ty is chairman of the East Asian Food AB, a Sweden-based food importer whose brands are currently the most popular Vietnamese ex-ports in the Scandinavian country.

Data from the Vietnamese Trade Office in Sweden showed Vietnam was among the three exporters of rice, besides the US and Norway, posting positive growth in the northern European country, attri-butable to the benefits brought about by the EVFTA.

Mr Ty acknowledged the high shipping costs and seasonal dis-ruptions to supply were among the challenges to be overcome.

There was also a need to convince Swedish consumers, who are well acquainted with foods imported from the likes of Thailand, to try the new products from Vietnam.

In a bid to iron out these problems, the Vietnamese trade association plans to build a major logistics centre in Malmo to supply Sweden and reduce costs.

Another market being explored is that for speciality rice.

The Vietnamese company Loc Troi Agricultural Products JSC has shipped more than 4,500 tonnes of rice this year already, worth over US$3 million.

Batches of the fragrant rice, glutinous rice and white and brown rice have been exported to Italy, France, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, the Philippines and Kuwait.