Vietnam’s food processing sector is poised to gain a firm foothold in European market by launching an export promotion support programme in Hanoi on September 18.

Do Thang Hai, Director of the Trade Promotion Department, said that the department has signed a cooperation agreement with the Netherlands’ Centre for the Promotion of Imports from developing countries (CBI) to increase the export volume of Vietnam’s produces from food processing sector to the European market.

The new agreement will lay a legal foundation for both sides to cooperate and promote the export of products, especially high-valued products to the European market, added Hai.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Dutch Ambassador to Vietnam Joop Scheffers said Vietnam’s traditional products such as rice, coffee and pepper have successfully entered the international market. But many Vietnamese traditional export produces have been facing challenges when seeking to tap the European market.

The promotion programme will run from 2013 to 2016 and it will help coffee, tea, cacao, cashew, peanut, honey exporters to gain a firm foothold in the European market. The CBI will also provide consultancy advice for Vietnamese side to organise an international fair on food processing in Vietnam in 2014.

The support programme is worth of 1.5 million EUR (1.95 million USD) including 1 million EUR from CBI and the rest from Vietnam.

Source: VNA