Hanoi(VNA) - Agricultural trade between Vietnam and the US continued to thrive in2020 despite COVID-19 and crop diseases in Vietnam.

Vietnam’s purchaseof wheat from the US surged about 140 percent to 144 million USD last year,while purchases of soybean and milk and dairy products rose 30 percent each, withvalue of 396 million USD and 173 million USD, respectively.

At a recent webinaron agricultural trade between Vietnam and the state of Nebraska, DeputyMinister of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) Le Quoc Doanh said Vietnamis undergoing agricultural restructuring towards boosting added value andsustainable development. Key export items include fisheries, wooden products,coffee, tea, and tropical fruit.

Nebraska is knownfor its high-quality farm produce, such as beef, pork, maize, soybeans, andwheat, he noted, stressing that the two countries’ products are thereforecomplementary and do not compete against each other.

Doanh affirmedthat Vietnam offers numerous business and investment opportunities as thecountry and its 96 million people further integrate into the global economy.Vietnam is an open market with substantial demand for high-quality imports fromthe US in general and Nebraska in particular.

For his part, NebraskaGovernor Pete Ricketts said Nebraska exported more than 14 million USD worth ofbeef, 6 million USD worth of corn gluten and 20.8 million USD worth of soybeanresidue to Vietnam in 2019.

Head of the InternationalCooperation Department Nguyen Do Anh Tuan noted that the two governments aswell as their businesses have exerted every effort to promote and expand their farmproduce markets.

The Vietnameseside is looking to capitalise on the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement(TIFA) and hopes that the US considers joining the Comprehensive andProgressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) to further foster agriculturaltrade between the two countries in a sustainable and harmonious manner.

Vietnam and the UShave maintained consistent supply chains and export-import of farm producesince the signing of memoranda of understanding during Doanh’s visit to the UStwo years ago, according to Nguyen Quoc Toan, director of MARD’s AgroProcessing and Market Development Department.

Vietnam’s GDP grew4.5 percent in the first quarter of this year while its agricultural sector grew3.16 percent, demonstrating the country’s constant economic growth.

Of note, as the countryhas kept COVID-19 under control, Vietnam may become an ideal investmentenvironment for US partners./.