Vietnam seeks stronger rice trade with China’s Guangdong province

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh has highlighted the importance of Guangdong province as a big market of Vietnam’s rice and agricultural products as well as exports in general, noting that the province consumes 11.5 percent of Vietnam’s total rice and grain product exports to China.

Addressing a conference on Vietnam-China rice and farm produce trading in Guangzhou city, China’s Guangdong province, the deputy minister urged closer cooperation between his ministry and Guangdong’s government as well as food associations and businesses of both sides in order to boost trade between Vietnam and Guangdong, especially in trade of rice and agriculture products.

(Photo for illustration)

Meanwhile, Guangdong Vice Governor Zhao Yufang held that there is room for cooperation between Vietnam, a country with great advantage in agricultural production, and the over 100-million strong Guangdong province, especially in rice trading.

She affirmed that the provincial government will continue collaborating with Vietnam’s Ministries of Industry and Trade, and Agriculture and Rural Development, in creating new playing grounds for business communities of both sides and enhancing bilateral trade partnership.

During the conference, leaders of the Vietnam Food Association briefed over 100 Chinese leading agriculture firms on Vietnam’s rice production and export as well as competitiveness.

On his part, the head of the Guangdong Food Association introduced the province’s need for agricultural products, especially rice, expressing willingness to set up an affiliation mechanism between the two associations and act as a bridge for business circles of both sides.

Earlier, Deputy Minister Tran Tuan Anh had a working session with Guangdong Vice Governor Zhao Yufang to seek measures to foster economic and trade partnership between Vietnam and Guangdong.

During his stay in China from June 30 to July 3, Anh and the Vietnamese delegation also visited a number of major rice and agricultural product distribution facilities, storages and processing factories in Guangdong.

According to statistics from the Vietnam Customs, last year, trade between Vietnam and China reached 58.7 billion USD, up 17.05 percent over the previous year. As of May this year, the figure was 26 billion USD, a rise of 14.7 percent over that of 2014.

At the same time, Guangzhou’s Customs’ statistics show that in the first four months of this year, trade between Vietnam and Guangdong hit 4 .44 billion USD, an increase of 10.6 percent year on year.