Australian businesses remain keen on Vietnamese agricultural technology

Several Australian businesses based in New South Wales (NSW) have expressed their keen desire to seek out greater opportunities in the field of agricultural technology in the Vietnamese market.

Australian businesses are keen to seek out greater opportunities in the field of agricultural technology in Vietnam

This information was released by Karla Lampe, Director Global Operations at Investment NSW, during a recent webinar held to discuss business opportunities in Vietnam.

The function saw Karla emphasise that Vietnam's rapid and sustainable economic growth over the years has seen the market become an increasingly attractive destination for NSW businesses.

Furthermore, demographic factors, a strong education system, and a growing middle class all serve to create a wealth of investment opportunities for Australian businesses.

Recent years has seen NSW strengthen co-operation with Vietnamese localities, with the Australian state signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Ho Chi Minh City as part of efforts to promote trade and investment activities between the two localities.

This comes following the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) recently being held in Ho Chi Minh City.

Karla revealed that Vietnam is currently NSW’s ninth largest trading partner, while their businesses have identified agritech, food, and beverages as their top priorities for penetrating the Vietnamese market.

Rebecca Ball, Australia's deputy consul-general (Commerce) in Vietnam and Cambodia, noted that the Vietnamese Government is focusing on developing agricultural services and strengthening its use of technology within the agricultural sector, which has offered greater opportunities for Australian businesses to participate in the market.

The Australian representative added that Australian businesses can introduce agricultural technology solutions in order to help Vietnam increase farming and aquaculture productivity, tighten control over disease and origin tractability to ensure product quality, thereby responding better to food security and food safety challenges.

She said the first quarter of the year saw the Oceanian country's agricultural exports to the Vietnamese market increase by 44% compared to the same period from last year, noting that Vietnam is likely to become Australia's fifth-largest agricultural product export market this year.