HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Vietnam will attract more foreign directinvestment and boost its agricultural and fisheries exports through free tradeagreements, experts have said.

The recently signed Comprehensive andProgressive Agreement for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the EU-VietnamFree Trade Agreement (EVFTA) would help the country increase its agriculturaland fisheries output, Pham Tuan Long, deputy director of the division ofagriculture, forestry and fishery at the Ministry of Industry and Trade’sexport-import department, said.

“With commitments under FTAs, import tariffs will be reduced or eliminated invarious markets, creating favorable conditions for Vietnam’s exports,” he tolda workshop held in Ho Chi Minh City on August 7.

Vietnam is a leading producer and exporter of a variety of agriculturalproducts, including rice, coffee, pepper, cashew and fish, he said.

Last year exports of its main agricultural products were worth US$27 billion,or nearly 11 percent of total exports.

Vietnam exports goods to more than 200 markets.

In the first half of this year, agricultural exports were worth 12.3 billionUSD, with fisheries, fruits and vegetables, coffee, cashew, rice, and pepperexports each fetching more than 1 billion USD.

However, with technical barriers and strict requirements with regard to foodsafety and hygiene standards, Vietnam’s agricultural products face manychallenges since agriculture is mostly done on a small scale.

The trade ministry has coordinated with the Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment to update local businesses on technical barriers and tradeprotection measures in import countries, he said.

Pham Thiet Hoa, director of the Investment and Trade Promotion Centre of HCM City,said it is vital that local firms invest heavily in modern facilities andtechnology and carefully manage quality and food safety in both the farming andprocessing stages to fulfil the export potential.

But they need to be offered incentives to enhance capacity, develop brands andupdate themselves on export markets and market surveys, he said.  

The workshop titled “Opportunities to access potential export markets for foodand foodstuff sector” was held on the sidelines of the VietFood, Beverage and ProfessionalPacking Machines international exhibition taken place in HCM City from August 7to 10.-VNS/VNA