Enterprises take the opportunity to export agricultural products to the EU

Although it is not easy to bring agricultural products into the EU market, but this is the market that enterprises are always interested in, and find the way to approach. The EU - Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) is coming to the signing stage, creating more incentives for businesses to exploit and promote agricultural exports to this market.

It is expected that when the EVFTA agreement takes effective, it will strongly promote export of agricultural products to the EU market. Picture: Nguyen Thanh

Coming to the EU market to get opportunity to ‘open more doors’ to other markets

As a company that has successfully exported products to the EU market, Ms. Nguyen Thi Huyen - Director of Vietnam cinnamon produce and export-import Co., Ltd, said: Initially, companies simply wanted to sell their products to international markets. However, some "easy" markets do not care much about quality, they only want to buy products at very cheap prices. Therefore, the company has re-oriented, focusing on high-class markets such as the EU, in order to increase the added value of Vietnamese cinnamon. This is a market that requires high standards of quality, but it’s always ready to buy products at very high prices.

Mr. Phan Van Truong, Director of GOC Food Processing Joint Stock Company, analized more clearly, "The EU is a market that pays high attention to food value, product quality, food hygiene and safety. This market also regulates very strictly on residues of antibiotics, pesticides, origin of agricultural products. However, instead of focusing on lower-class markets, many other businesses like GOC- are directing towards the EU because of the stringent standards it offers.”

"The EU is the world's leading market for standards. If enterprises want to export to this market their products have not only to meet the quality standards, but also to have high standards of environmental protection, energy savings and social security. ... The biggest benefit is not profit from this market when the goods are exported, but the management system and reputation of the enterprise. If the products meet the EU market’s standards, other markets will look at it to connect to enterprises for business. For example, the US, Japan, South Korea ... look at the standard of the EU market to import goods," Mr Truong emphasized.

Enterprises can’t succeed on their own

Currently, the EU has been one of the most important markets for Vietnamese goods in general and agricultural products in particular. It is forecasted that when the EVFTA agreement is available it will create a great impetus for Viet Nam's agricultural exports to the EU, as tariffs on agricultural products will fall sharply, approaching 0-5% within 7-10 years, such as for rice, sugar cane.

Commenting on the EVFTA agreement, Mr Thuong pointed out that Viet Nam's agricultural exports to the EU are currently taxed at 14%. In due time, when EVFTA takes effect, tax will be at 0%, that’s a great opportunity for exporting agricultural products to the EU. "It is very important to keep Vietnam areas of material production able to meet the safety requirements of the EU. In order to achieve that, businesses and localities must build their own material areas that meet the international standards. At the same time, enterprises also need to build a contingent of management staff to meet the requirement of a management system in the EU market," Mr. Thuong shared his experience.

Around this point, according to Bui Thi Hanh Hieu - General Director of Bao Minh agricultural products processing joint stock company, "Before, when businesses got into the EU market on their own, to explore demand without the support of state agencies, the enterprises found it difficult to succeed. However, when there is a clear method of support, businesses are very quick to comply with legal necessities and implement the requirements. Companies can then plan the contents and programs, and through that, order the output with farmers very specifically. Businesses alone can not do that. However, there are the positive interests of departments and branches for orientating, guiding, to make it easier for businesses," Ms. Hieu said.

Representatives of a number of enterprises proposed that state management agencies should accompany closely with the enterprises to take advantage of opportunities to exploit the EU market. This shows through the stages of popularization and propaganda to companies, the full contents of the EVFTA agreement. At the same time, businesses should be helped to solve arising problems, typically in the process of exporting goods. In addition, it is necessary to keep programs and policies to support enterprises in exporting.

With the promotion of agricultural exports to the EU, Italian Trade Counselor Paolo Lemma commented: The construction of brands for Vietnam’s agricultural products to promote to the world are still weak and lack connectivity. This makes EU consumers unable to know about many very good products. Therefore, in the coming time, the strategy of promoting and building brands must be strongly promoted so that EU consumers and the other consumers in the world, can recognize them better. Some experts added: For agricultural products, peoples’ consumption trend is now directed to organic products, originating naturally and not artificially. Therefore, Vietnamese enterprises need to grasp this need to have a suitable trend of production.