The Vietnamese agricultural sector targets to export US$16 billion of agricultural, forestry and seafood products in 2010, up from US$15.4 billion a year earlier.
Of the total, the sector expects to reap US$4.37 billion from seafood export; US$3 billion from woodwork export and US$8.63 billion from farm produce export.
Among farm produce, rice export is expected to bring in US$3 billion; coffee, more than US$1.7 billion; rubber, US$1.4 billion; and cashew nuts, US$1 billion.
But analysts warned that the sector will encounter more difficulties this year.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Luong Le Phuong said that Vietnamese exporters will see stricter regulations on food safety and hygiene set by importers, the Thoi Bao Kinh Te newspaper reported.
The regulations include the EU’s Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT), the US’s Farm bill, and the EU’s Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (IUUF) regulation.
The inconsistent quality of several Vietnamese products increases the chance of losing some export markets. Nguyen Ton Quyen, general secretary of the Vietnam Woodwork and Forestry Products Association provided one example that even though the U.S. lists 200 chemicals it prohibits from use on its timber imports, many companies in Vietnam are still unclear about this regulation.
The FLEGT Action Plan which will take effect in 2011 requires all timber products exported to the EU to have a permit from authorities verifying their origins.
The complication of the timber importing acts in Vietnam, however, makes it very difficult for products to comply with this law. Not every country that exports timber to Vietnam follows the regulations and provides the necessary documentation.
The U.S. Farm bill and the EU’s IUUF regulation which both take effect from Jan 1 2010, require all fishery products exported to the U.S. and EU to have proof of legal exploitation. All of these documents have to be approved by local authorities before the products are shipped.
Deputy Minister Phuong said that Vietnamese products would not be able to make a breakthrough if the quality was not improved to meet international regulations.
"The government needs to have a complete legal framework, a policy to support enterprises and to tighten the relationships among business associations and government offices," said Phuong.
"We need to focus on products that have been our strengths in the past like rice, coffee and cashew and keep expanding overseas markets," he said.
The agricultural production process needed to be effective and sustainable, he said. The ministry will also categorize plants in groups in order to improve the quality and the competitive capacity of products. (Local sources)
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