Each year, Vietnam earns billions of dollars from exporting agricultural and forestry products, but increasingly high standards from import markets require businesses to have a methodical investment strategy from technology to scale. production process, thereby helping sustainable exports.

More strict regulations

Recently, the European Parliament and the European Council passed a bill to prevent the import of goods that cause deforestation and forest degradation. The bill's official name is the European Deforestation-free Regulation (EUDR - EU Deforestation-free Regulation) to ban the import of agricultural and forestry products whose production process on land originates from deforestation and causes degradation. forests from after December 31, 2020.

With this regulation, some Vietnamese agricultural products, especially coffee, when imported into the EU market need to have positioning information (GPS) to each garden... Thus, when the regulation takes effect (expected from late 2024 to early 2025) will directly impact actors in the above industry supply chains.

According to the Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association, traceability information is most difficult for farmer households. In fact, many farming households have fragmented areas, most of which are only 0.5 hectares or less. This area is actually legal, but proving the origin is not easy, and there is also the cost of implementing traceability. However, for businesses that have invested methodically, meeting green and sustainable standards is also a great opportunity to enhance value and brand.

Currently, the European Union (EU) is Vietnam's largest coffee consumption market, with a market share of over 40% of export volume. Vietnam's coffee exports to this market in 2022 will reach 689,049 tons, worth nearly 1.5 billion USD, up 25.8% in volume and 45.4% in value compared to 2021.

According to the assessment of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (referred to as EVFTA) implemented for nearly 3 years (August 1, 2020) has created momentum for Vietnam's export activities in general and agricultural and forestry products in particular. In particular, the EVFTA Agreement helps Vietnamese fruits and vegetables eliminate up to 94% of tariff lines when entering the EU, creating a competitive advantage compared to goods from some countries with large export turnover of this product.

Data from the European Statistics Agency (Eurostat) shows that Vietnam is the 59th largest fruit and vegetable supply market for the EU in the 11 months of 2022, reaching 74,000 tons, worth 215 million USD. In 2022, Vietnam's export turnover of this product to the EU will be about 235 million USD.

Vietnam's fruit and vegetable exports are experiencing some advantages when world demand for vegetables and fruits increases and Vietnam can produce year-round. In addition, participating in Free Trade Agreements (FTA) also helps most export tax lines of vegetables and fruits and products processed from fruits and vegetables be eliminated.

Assessment from the Ministry of Industry and Trade shows that the opportunity for Vietnamese fruits and vegetables in the European Union (EU) is huge because the market size is up to 62 billion Euro, equivalent to 43% of fruit trade value. and global vegetables. However, to adapt to requirements from export markets, agricultural production and trade must be oriented towards sustainable development along the value chain.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade also noted that businesses when exporting fruit and vegetable products to the EU need to pay attention to fully meeting other import regulations, especially regulations on food hygiene and safety and food inspection. plant fluids, labeling... EU import regulations for fruits and vegetables are very strict and change frequently, so export businesses must continuously update and closely connect with importers to meet the regulations. intend to issue.

Minh Toan