AFI asks Vietnam to prioritize vaccination for agricultural laborers

The US Association of Food Industries (AFI) has recently sent a letter to the Prime Minister proposing to prioritize vaccination for Vietnamese workers in the agricultural and food processing industries.

Letter from Mr. Bob Bauer to the Prime Minister, requesting Vietnam prioritize vaccination for workers in agriculture and food industries, particularly the cashew sector.

Mr. Bob Bauer, Chairman of the US Association of Food Industries (AFI) has recently sent a letter to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. The content of the letter is as followed:

“Dear Prime Minister:

I am writing on behalf of the Association of Food Industries, the trade association for the U.S. food import industry. AFI’s approximately 1,000 member companies are primarily U.S. food importers and foreign firms exporting food from the U.S. Several Vietnamese companies are members of AFI and many of AFI’s U.S. members import product from Vietnam. Cashews are a particularly important item for many AFI members.

AFI urges you to prioritize the distribution of vaccines to agricultural and food production workers in Vietnam, particularly the cashew sector. The U.S. market accounts for nearly one-third of the $3.5 million value of annual Vietnamese cashew kernel exports and keeping a steady supply is key to ensuring continued growth. We urge you to work with VINACAS, the Vietnamese cashew industry trade association, to implement vaccination and other Covid protocols to help Vietnam retain its leadership within the sector, a position that if lost, may never be regained.

With agriculture/food production being such an important industry because it feeds a country’s own citizens and provides many jobs related to domestic and foreign distribution, making this sector a priority will help set the stage for Vietnam’s health and economic recovery.”

In the documentary conveying AFI's proposal to the Prime Minister, according to Mr. Pham Van Cong, President of Vietnam Cashew Association (VINACAS), in the past time, the Covid-19 pandemic has had complicated developments, severely affecting business operations in general and cashew industry in particular. This has made a great impact on the supply of Vietnamese cashew kernels to the world market in general and the US market in particular. The risk of disruption to Vietnam's cashew kernel supply is a concern of many importers around the world.