Vietnam, Malaysia discuss ways to increase farm produce value

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong and Malaysia’s Minister of Plantation, Industries and Commodities Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong discussed how to tap the bilateral cooperation potential in promoting farm produce at their meeting on October 4 in Hanoi.

Minister Cuong hailed the important role of agriculture in both countries’ economy and job generation for farmers and asked the two sides to work together to increase the value of products.

Currently, agriculture contributes 11% to the gross domestic product (GDP) of Malaysia, and creates jobs for 16% of the workforce. 

Meanwhile, the sector accounts for 18% of Vietnam’s GDP and 70% of Vietnamese population are living in rural areas.

Cuong said he hopes the agricultural trade between Vietnam and Malaysia will increase by US$1 billion by 2020 towards the goal of US$15 billion in bilateral trade value in 2020.

Minister Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong for his part said his nation is importing rubber from Vietnam to produce medical gloves, noting that many Malaysian rubber and pepper businesses are eyeing the Vietnamese market.

He invited Vietnam to attend the upcoming International Rubber Tripartite Conference in Kuala Lumpur.

In regard to pepper products, the minister said Vietnam now produces five times as much pepper than Malaysia.Vietnam is the biggest pepper manufacturer in the world while Malaysia is taking the lead in processed pepper products.

He also affirmed Malaysian businesses' readiness to cooperate with Vietnam cooperate in processing pepper products.