Vietnamese farm produce seeks to reach French customers

Hanoi (VNA) – The Vietnam Agricultural Product Week 2018 will offer various kinds of farm produce such as fruits, vegetables, aquatic products, processed food and beverages at France’s Rungis market from June 26-28.

Illustrative image (Source: VNA)

France is the third biggest economy in Europe and sixth in the world with a population of 66 million, according to Hoang Van Du, Deputy Director of the Agricultural Trade Promotion Centre under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. 

Rungis is one of the biggest farm produce markets in the globe, which provides agricultural products for the French capital and proximity areas with 18 million people, he said.

Paris and France in general are home to a large number of Asian people who have high demand for made-in-Asia farm produce, he added.

Each day, up to 6,000 tonnes of farm produce are transported to the market, one tenth of which are transported to the nearby airport for outbound shipment, Du unveiled.

The Vietnam Agricultural Product Week will feature a wide range of activities to introduce and promote Vietnamese agricultural products to French distributors and wholesalers, restaurants, hotels and supermarkets as well as increase business-to-business connectivity, he said.

The Agricultural Trade Promotion Centre has coordinated with Vietnam’s Trade Office in France to explore the European market.

“We have set up an information technology and market research office to study regulations on imports and customer habits”, he said.

“France in particular and Europe in general are choosy markets. They have strict requirements on the quality of products”, Du added.

Therefore, Vietnamese businesses must work harder to meet European regulations on ensuring food safety and hygiene and trace of the product origins, he suggested.

It is important to create environmentally-friendly products, he recommended.

Additionally, businesses need to prepare sufficient materials with good quality to meet the big number of orders from foreign markets.

Du also advised enterprises not to buy and use illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) aquatic products.

Instead, they should focus on developing brand names and improving quality and design of products, he said