QUANG NINH AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS PERFECTING TO REACH FURTHER TO WORLD MARKETS

Quang Ninh owns an abundant area of agricultural production. Its 14 fruit-growing zones give an average output of 4,500 tons/year while its fishing output reaches over 145,000 tons/year. It has also planned 17 concentrated agricultural zones applying high technology in production.

Currently, a number of enterprises in the province have applied high technologies in cultivation such as Dam Ha Trading and Construction Joint Stock Company in Dam Ha District and Song Hanh Import-Export and Investment Joint Stock Company in Quang Yen town. These companies’ freezing capacity of agricultural products is estimated at over 380 tons/day with frozen storage available for about 12,000 tons. The province has also 3 fresh fruit packing units and 9 seafood export companies eligible for exports to China.

Although the province has many advantages in developing agriculture, forestry, and fishery, these sectors have not been brought into full play according to their inherent strengths. To promote its agricultural products to reach further to foreign markets, especially those of Western countries, the province's functional authorities are making all efforts to help businesses innovate, perfect their products and connect with export markets.

In July 2019, the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) was officially signed. This was a great opportunity for Quang Ninh’s agricultural products to expand to foreign markets. Therefore, authorities and business enterprises of all sectors in the province have gradually innovated production and cultivation applying science and technology to meet export demands. At the same time, the province has developed its key OCOP products targeting both domestic consumption and exports. Up to now, 500 OCOP products have been developed over the province, of which 238 are graded and granted stars.

From 2020 until now, the Department of Industry and Trade has supported connecting and introducing products of 21 businesses in Quang Ninh with Vietnamese counselors abroad such as Korea, Japan, Australia, Malaysia, India, and China.

In addition, the Department also sent guiding documents to local authorities and businesses for the implementation of new Chinese policies-the General Administration of Customs of China’s two Orders 248 and 249, which will start to take effect from January 1, 2022.

Meanwhile, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has always accompanied, prioritized resources, and strengthened support for businesses and cooperatives to access the State's support policies, especially those of machinery and equipment in production and preliminary processing as well as those in agricultural infrastructure.

Thereby, it has promoted clean and deep processing and improved the quality and added value of agricultural products. With a long-term orientation, the province encourages businesses and cooperatives to focus on investing in upgrading factory facilities and ensuring food safety according to export standards, so that they are licensed to export to big markets such as China and Europe.

By promoting present advantages and mobilizing all efforts in meeting requirements of foreign markets, many of the province’s agricultural and aquatic products have been exported to large and potential markets such as candles, fish sauce, and seafood to Taiwan, India, China, the UK, Australia, Russia, and Malaysia.

The province also supports business enterprises to find partners in exports of seafood such as grouper, clam, oyster, and OCOP products to China and cooking oil of Vegetable Oil Co., Ltd. to Japan.

Since the beginning of the year, the Quang Ninh Import-Export Management Office has verified and issued nearly 18,000 certificates of origin for products in the area, with the value of goods being issued reaching USD1.044 billion. Export procedures have been completed for over 1,600 tons of agricultural products, an increase of 100% compared to 2020. The Office also processed export procedures for over 3,200 tons of aquatic products, an increase of more than 300% over the same period in 2020.

It is reported that for the period of 2020-2025, Quang Ninh has directed functional authorities to urgently research and develop a project to develop a chain of key agricultural products, continuously paying attention to and orientating more long-term improvement for the value, efficiency, and competitiveness of agricultural products. The project is aimed not only to meet the increasing demand of the domestic market but also for exports to many countries around the world.

Thanks to the active operation of local authorities and sectors, Quang Ninh agricultural products have grasped opportunities to access international markets including those that are famous for their rigor in requirements of high quality for agricultural products. In particular, Quang Ninh's organic cinnamon exported to European countries in April 2021 had marked a good sign for the province’s agricultural products in the future.

However, according to authorities, the outputs of Quang Ninh's agricultural products exported to international markets are still not commensurate with their potentials and strengths. Besides, as the market competition is more and more fierce and requirements for exports of agricultural products to many markets are becoming more stringent. Thus, it is required for the province to continue taking many solutions to increase both output and quality of agricultural products accompanied with more effective promotion strategies.