US trade group sees Vietnam as lucrative market for agricultural products

A delegation of agricultural traders from the US has said it is excited about the potential to boost agriculture exports to Vietnam during a recent trip here.

A customer browses for imported American apples at a mart in Hanoi in a file photo. Photo: Kham/Reuters
 

While in Hanoi earlier this week, members of the Western United States Agricultural Trade Association (WUSATA) met with Vietnam’s agriculture and trade ministers to discuss the

Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and promote trade and cooperation between 13 western states of the US and Vietnam.

They also met importers and retailers in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Jim Barbee, director of Nevada’s Department of Agriculture and association's president, said the trip, from April 4 to 8, was “very successful.”

Andy Anderson, WUSATA’s executive director, said Vietnam, a TPP member, represents a rapidly growing market for high-value US agricultural products.

“Western US agricultural and food companies are eager to enter or expand the Vietnamese export market through the help of the TPP,” said Anderson.

The TPP will help eliminate or reduce tariffs and other barriers on many US food and beverage products.

Exports of US agricultural and related products to Vietnam grew from US$1.5 billion in 2010 to $2.6 billion in 2015, according to WUSATA’s figures.

Khoa Le

Source: Thanh Nien News