Vietnam needs to remove origin, quality bottlenecks for farm produce
Vietnam needs to remove origin, quality bottlenecks for farm produce
Vietnam will easily grasp opportunities to export its farm produce to many countries with which it has yet to sign bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) if it removes two major hindrances related to the origin and quality of products.
Speaking at a workshop titled “CPTPP: Opportunities and Challenges for Vietnam’s Farm Produce” on July 2, financial expert Can Van Luc from Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) said that the country’s participation in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) will immediately allow local farm produce exporters to benefit from preferential duty policies offered by members, including the markets with which Vietnam has no FTAs.
In particular, under the CPTPP, which takes effect on January 14, Canada will cut 94.9% of duties, whereas Australia will reduce tariffs for 93% of products.
Apart the tariff cuts, the CPTPP contains multiple requirements on labor, business climate and the quality of products. These requirements will force enterprises to improve the quality of their products and further invest in technologies to ensure global growth.
Over the past few years, Vietnam has shipped many types of farm produce such as rice, pepper, coffee and seafood to foreign countries but has faced many technical barriers in the export process.
To eliminate existing barriers to export and expand consumption markets, and make use of the benefits from the CPTPP, enterprises should prioritize checking the origin of goods and increasing the quality of products, Luc remarked, adding that CPTPP members tend to set strict requirements for the origin and quality of goods. As such, local firms should focus on creating safe and ecofriendly manufacturing processes and ensuring clear origin traceability.
Besides this, to maximize the opportunities offered by the CPTPP, it is necessary to build an export market information system, according to a report by researchers from BIDV Research and Training Institute.
Aside from accessing market information from global markets, firms should also enhance trade promotion activities and diversify their products to easily enter foreign markets.
To fulfill the target, these firms should urgently build, protect and develop brands and labels for their products to gain a global market foothold.
