Việt Nam will have to address some challenges in order to fully grasp the benefits of the EU – Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and its opportunities for the export of agricultural products.

The statement was released by Head of Trade and Economic Affairs at the EU Delegation to Việt Nam Carsten Schittek at the Việt Nam-EU forum on sustainable agriculture held by EuroCham, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) in Hà Nội on Thursday.

“The EU market is very demanding in terms of compliance with standards. This is of course to safeguard the protection of our consumers. However, this does not mean that the EU market is ‘closed’, on the contrary,” Schittek said.

He said the EU is the largest importer of agriculture products, and imports more than the US, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Japan. Its consumers value high quality products with special characteristics such as organic, fair trade and geographical indications.

He emphasised that agriculture plays an important role in bilateral trade between the EU and Việt Nam. The country still needs to make an effort in this area and move up the value chain, as well as develop a supply industry. “Higher income is likely to be reached by further investing into sustainability of production.”

“Vietnamese products are not yet identified by EU consumers. With growing exports, more brand building will be possible for Việt Nam.”

He said it is therefore extremely important that Việt Nam is fully prepared for the FTA before its implementation. The EU’s agriculture agencies and Việt Nam should continue the close cooperation to ensure a smooth implementation of the EVFTA commitments on the first day of its entry into force [which is expected next year].

Deputy Minister of MARD Lê Quốc Doanh said Việt Nam will formulate and perfect policies to create favourable conditions for enterprises to access and apply modern and advanced scientific and technological research results in service of agricultural production and business.

“We will make full use of the opportunities of the fourth industrial revolution to develop agriculture in an efficient and sustainable manner,” Doanh said.

“We will also enhance support to protect intellectual property at home and abroad for key and specific agricultural products, promoting branding development, geographical indications, traceability and intellectual property for protected products.”

By 2030, Doanh said Việt Nam’s agriculture targets to rank among 15 developed countries in the world, of which agricultural processing industry ranks among the top 10 countries in the world.

In the past ten years, Việt Nam’s export turnover of agricultural, forestry and aquatic products annually grew more than 9 per cent on average. Last year, it reached a record of $40.02 billion. There are 10 agricultural products with export turnover of $1 billion or more, including fruits, cashews, coffee, rice, shrimp and wood products, with an export turnover of over $3 billion.

The GDP growth rate of the whole sector in the period 2008-17 reached 2.66 per cent per year and last year reached 3.76 per cent, the highest level in the last seven years.

The forum, attended by more than 150 guests, provided participants with innovative solutions from high-level representatives of European enterprises, including presentations from Bayer and ABB on how digital technology can support sustainable agriculture in Việt Nam.

It also included two panel discussions which rounded off the event, discussing the EVFTA and Agriculture 4.0. These sessions featured a range of participants, including representatives of Nedspice Processing, Control Union Vietnam, NS Bluescope Lysaght Vietnam, I. Schroeder KG, Les Vergers du Mekong, and IDH Vietnam.

Chairman of EuroCham Nicolas Audier said Việt Nam’s agricultural sector will be one of the biggest winners from the EVFTA, as a reduction in tariffs will increase demand and boost exports to Europe’s large, high-spending consumer market.

“However, the EU has very high standards for food imports. So it has never been more important for European enterprises and Vietnamese producers to come together, learn from each other, and help develop a world-leading agriculture sector in Việt Nam with safe, certified, and traceable produce,” Audier said.

“This event will help to develop stronger relationships between the Vietnamese and European business communities and, in doing so, help to unlock the full potential of the EVFTA,” Audier added.

According to EU statistics, as much as US$2.73 billion or 15 per cent of Việt Nam’s global exports of agricultural products in 2018 were destined for the EU. The trade in agricultural products always represents an average 10 per cent of the total two way trade.

The EVFTA, on day one of its enforcement, will eliminate 85.6 per cent of tariff lines which is equivalent to 70.3 per cent of Việt Nam’s exports to the EU. After seven years of implementation, 99.2 per cent of the tariff lines and 99.7 per cent of Việt Nam’s exports will be duty free.

The HCM City Department of Planning and Architecture, after collecting feedback from local authorities, plans to ask the city People’s Committee to approve the zoning plan for the HCM City Northwestern Urban Area.

The department has encouraged local residents to invest in urban embellishment projects.

The department has agreed with relevant authorities to prioritise arrangement of high-rise buildings along main traffic axis with significant development potential, such as the parallel axis of National Highway 22 and Metro No.2 route.

HCM City will also concentrate on arrangement of service complex buildings and high-rise buildings with commercial functions in urban area centres and near the Metro No.2 station.

Meanwhile, at areas adjacent to the East Canal and canals 5, 6, 7 and 8, the city would focus on creating an open space in harmony with the general landscape of the area and would build garden houses.

The city will also study and propose construction along roads along the rivers, canals and ditches that are connected to the transport network of the entire area, matching the existing landscape of river and canal banks, the department said.

The department said that vacant land should be used and more green spaces and playgrounds in residential areas should be built.

Nguyễn Thành Toàn, deputy director of the HCM City Department of Planning and Architecture, said that, in addition to an appropriate compensation policy, local residents have been encouraged to cooperate and invest in urban embellishment projects.

This would ensure efficiency of land use and gradually improve the living environment of HCM City, he said.

Each new residential area would have modern, quality infrastructure compatible with the existing landscape, ensuring sustainable development of urban areas.

Toàn added that industrial development would be maintained in the HCM City Northwestern Urban Area. However, it would be adjusted in the direction of clean industry that applies high technology and offers high-tech services.

The existing Tân Phú Trung Industrial Zone would be further developed in this way. The project is a priority within the HCM City Northwestern Zoning Plan, which aims to be a driving force for development of the entire area.

The exhibition chain attracted more than 150 exhibitors with 200 booths featuring a wide range of machines, equipment and technology. The event also introduces products from the top 500 brands in the industry.

In addition, the exhibitions bring the businesses a favourable environment to introduce products, trade, investment promotion and technology transfer. Especially, through seminars, representatives of associations and experts will update attendees on information, share experience and connect recruitment.

Specifically, the electricity sector’s businesses are promoting electric wire and cable products, lamps of all kinds, monitoring equipment, telecommunications equipment and solar power. Meanwhile, the businesses in the printing industry are introducing cutting and metalworking technology, handheld devices and sensor technology.

The exhibition, which runs through September 21, is expected to create a favourable environment for businesses in the printing industry in particular and manufacturing enterprises in general to look for investment opportunities and cooperation. Meanwhile, the exhibitions contribute to support businesses to survey the market, research products to serve a sustainable development strategy.

U.S. News & World Report has just released the ranking of the best economies to invest in this year, showing large changes, with three new faces among the top five. In particular, Vietnam surpassed its Southeast Asian neighbours including Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore to rank eighth, massively boosting its 23rd position last year.

Fuelled by continuous growth, Vietnam itself continues to attract record foreign direct investment (FDI) volumes, bolstered by its committed to roll out an ambitious investment plan to develop overall infrastructure in major industrial poles, which will ease doing business and improve logistics. All these factors helped the country improve its ranking tremendously year by year.

U.S. News & World Report’s ranking is the results of a global perception-based survey and ranks countries based on the highest scores among nearly 7,000 business decision-makers on a compilation of eight equally weighted country attributes including corruption, dynamism, economic stability, entrepreneurship, tax environment, innovation, skilled labour force, and technological expertise.