Launching Ceremony "The Exportation of Fruit Shipment to the European Union in line with the –EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA)"

On 17th September 2020 in Ben Tre, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the People’s Committee of Ben Tre province held a ceremony to announce the export of fruit shipments to Europe under the EVFTA.

This event took place at the factory of VINA T&T Group. This export shipment included three products of coconut, grapefruit and dragon fruit. Of which, 20 thousand coconuts were exported to the UK, 12 tons of grapefruit were exported to Germany and 3 tons of dragon fruit were exported to the Netherlands.

Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr. Le Quoc Doanh, together with representatives of the European Union in Vietnam and leaders of ministries and agencies cut the ribbon and issued orders for the convoy to depart.

The ribbon cutting ceremony announced the shipment of fruit to Europe under the EVFTA

FAABS representative Mr. Jacques Poulain shared his vision about plant protection, good agriculture practice (GAP), and the development of the organic fruit sector in the Mekong Delta as an opportunity to access to the European market, thanks to the new trade agreement with Vietnam.

In his speech, he emphasised that to ensure high quality products, Vietnam is in the process of change and needs the following:

“First, a stricter control of raw materials before processing and adequate manufacturing standards. These are issues that need to be addressed to make the agriculture sector competitive with international players. And there should also be an opportunity to increase the food safety level of the country thanks to a centralized food safety agency.

“Second, ensuring sustainable growth aiming at farmers earning stable incomes, reducing the farmers’ carbon footprints, which can be reached e.g. by trainings, adjusting the production to the requirements of consumer and market demands, taking into consideration the challenges of climate change, considering the model of small farms as a strength to reach the quality targets – this especially for organic production”.

Mr. Poulain also strongly affirmed that: “If these issues can be addressed in the future, Vietnam’s exports in the agriculture sector will be able to show sustainable growth”. 
 

Mr. Jacques Poulain (FAABS Representative) spoke at the launching ceremony
 

As soon as the EVFTA comes into effect, tariffs were deeply reduced and will follow a relatively fast roadmap. Specifically, 94% of the 547 tariff lines for vegetables and products will be abolished. This is a great opportunity for Vietnamese fruits to expand their market share in the EU.