EU promotes trade on farm products, food with Vietnam

Phil Hogan, EU High Commissioner on Agriculture and Rural Development, led a high-level trade mission to visit Ho Chi Minh City on November 4.

The delegation comprises over 40 businesses in farm products and food.

Phil Hogan speaking at the press conference on November 4 in Ho Chi Minh City

The EU official highlighted the importance of promoting trade on agricultural products and food between the two sides on the basis of the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

The pact, which has been concluded negotiations, will bring big opportunities for both Vietnamese and EU producers in seeking markets for high-quality agricultural products, he said.

According to the EU, not only Vietnamese people are keen on agricultural products and food from Europe, but also the number of European consumers loving Vietnamese products increases.

The EU is among Vietnam’s largest trading partners, with bilateral trade reaching 38.4 billion EUR (41.93 billion USD) last year, with the latter enjoying a trade surplus.

Vietnam ranks 21st among the bloc’s trading partners and is the second largest trading partner of the EU in ASEAN.

In 2015, the EU earned 129 billion EUR from agricultural product and food exports, making it the world’s biggest exporter.

EU businesses consider Vietnam a potential market for European farm products and food and expect that boosting trade in the field with Vietnam will help increase import-export turnover between the two sides, thus contributing to growth and job generation.