Asia and Europe are important markets for Vietnamese fruit and vegetable exports and imports, and flowers could be next.

A seminar on horticulture and floriculture exports titled 'New movement in Asian and European markets' was held by the organisers of HortEx Vietnam in Ha Noi on Thursday.

Fruit and vegetable exports grew from US$829 million in 2012 to $1.47 billion in 2014, and to $2.4 billion in 2016 before reaching a record of $3.86 billion last year, surpassing many other agricultural products.

“By negotiating and signing 16 free trade agreements, including the Viet Nam - European Union Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the Investment Protection Agreement (IPA) between the European Union (EU) and Viet Nam in June, many opportunities are opening for the export of agricultural, forestry and fishery products of Viet Nam, including the fruit and vegetable industry,” said Le Thanh Hoa, deputy director general of the Agro Processing and Market Development Authority, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

“This will be a good opportunity for the expansion of Viet Nam's fruit and vegetable export markets in the global production, processing and supply chain,” he said.

“To seize this opportunity, the whole industry needs to change its perception, actively seek directions to be able to integrate and better meet market regulations, improving the status of Vietnamese agricultural products,” Hoa said.

“To achieve this, companies must equip themselves with market knowledge, updated technology, improve product quality and network with global supply chains,” he added.

Le Thi Mai Anh, a representative from the Asia-Africa Market Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said fruit and vegetable exports of Viet Nam to Asian markets made up 85 per cent of total export turnover, including top Asian markets such as China, South Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia and Taiwan.

On the advantages of exporting to Asian markets, Anh emphasised the geographical location which shortened time for transport. She also said Asian markets had a large population scale with high market demand and similar consumption habits.

Regarding difficulties, she mentioned strict regulations on hygiene and food safety standards, and complicated risk assessment processes.

Other difficulties included weak competitive capacity and quality of Vietnamese fruit and vegetables; and limited knowledge on foreign markets.

Viet Nam’s fruit and vegetable sector achieved a trade surplus of $1.4 billion in the first nine months of this year with export revenue of $2.8 billion, reported the Viet Nam Fruit and Vegetable Association.

The export revenue in the nine months dropped five per cent compared to the same period last year, while the import revenue rose seven per cent.

The export revenue in the 10 months of the year is expected to reach $3.1 billion, said Dang Phuc Nguyen, general secretary of at the association at the seminar.

Vietnamese Minh Vi Exhibition and Advertisement Services Company, Dutch Nova Exhibitions Company and China Great Wall International Exhibition will organise Hortex Vietnam 2020.

HortEx Vietnam 2020, the third international exhibition and conference for horticultural and floricultural production and processing technology in Viet Nam, will take place at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center (SECC) between February 26 and February 28 next year.

HortEx Vietnam 2020 will be expanded in scale compared to previous editions and is expected to welcome some 250 exhibiting companies from 30 different countries worldwide.

The exhibition aims to create a platform for growers, suppliers and industry professionals to develop businesses, thereby contributing to the development of Viet Nam's industry, helping local and international businesses exchange and co-operate. — VNS