Vietnam must rank among top 10 farm produce exporters by 2025: PM
Vietnam must rank among top 10 farm produce exporters by 2025: PM
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, at a teleconference in Hanoi on December 23, suggested that the agriculture sector should grow by 3%-3.5% per year and add five agricultural products with export revenue of over US$1 billion each by 2025 to make Vietnam one of the 10 largest agricultural exporters worldwide.
At the teleconference on the agriculture and rural development sector’s plan for 2020, PM Phuc noted that these targets are aimed at helping Vietnam provide 15 products with export revenue of over US$1 billion each and a total export value of US$50 billion, placing it first in terms of exports among ASEAN countries, news site Vietnamplus reported.
Next year, the sector is forecast to expand by 3% and earn US$43 billion in agro-forestry-fishery exports.
Assessing the sector’s performance this year, the Government leader stated that the sector has faced multiple challenges, including strong competition in the international market, increasing protectionism, a trade war, diseases and climate change.
However, the sector has reached and exceeded three of the four targets set by the Government.
Accordingly, obstacles have been removed to ease production.
The prime minister also hailed the efforts of the competent agencies at all levels in the fight against African swine fever.
However, he also pointed out the shortcomings of the sector. Specifically, the sector has yet to be restructured across localities, while the revamping of production models has failed to meet demand.
In addition, the sector’s export revenue growth has been slow because of the decline in the prices of key agricultural products. Diseases remain rampant and pose a high risk to the sector, especially African swine fever, which has significantly affected the sector’s growth and pushed up the pork price.
At the teleconference, Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh reported that the Ministries of Industry and Trade and of Agriculture and Rural Development have striven to introduce local farm produce to the world. The two ministries will continue improving policies to attract more investment; removing administrative procedures; and increasing the provision of information to enterprises, cooperatives and farmers.
According to Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong, the sector will continue facing new challenges next year. Therefore, the restructuring of the sector must continue alongside renewing the growth model.
Further, the sector will develop value chains and connect agriculture with processing, preservation and export. The cooperation among localities will be boosted to create breakthroughs, ensure the sector’s sustainable development and increase the added value and competitiveness of products.
He pledged to gradually curb African swine fever and seek to have the European Commission’s yellow card on Vietnam's seafood removed.
Lo Minh Hung, vice chairman of the northern mountainous province of Son La, which has the most fruit orchards and farmland in Vietnam, suggested the Government invest more in traffic infrastructure in Son La and the northwestern area as a whole and the relevant ministries and agencies assist the province with product promotion.
Meanwhile, Bac Giang Chairman Duong Van Thai expected the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to continue expanding markets for local farm produce and to direct localities to meet the strict requirements of selective markets such as Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom and China.
Representing enterprises, Dinh Cao Khue, general director of Dong Giao Foodstuff Export JSC, proposed the relevant ministries and agencies continue creating favorable conditions for firms to join exhibitions, especially international ones.
