Viet Nam and Japan can accelerate co-operation in applying Japan’s new technology and advanced value chain management methods to Viet Nam’s agricultural production, according to experts at a conference in the capital city on Tuesday.

Head of the Viet Nam Academy of Agricultural Sciences Nguyen Hong Son said Viet Nam was transforming its agricultural production to focus on increasing quality rather than quantity.

The application of science and advanced technologies is a key factor in this transformation process, he said, emphasising the importance of technology in the entire farming production chain from cultivation and harvesting to processing and trading.

Viet Nam has gradually co-operated with foreign partners to evaluate and choose suitable technologies which can help the country produce quality farm produce. Technologies from Japan and South Korea, where farming methods are relatively familiar to Viet Nam, are among the best candidates.

Son described the adoption of advanced technologies from Japan in several areas such as seeds, bio-preparations, soil improvers and biosecurity besides those in quality control as an effective way for Viet Nam to promote exports of agricultural products to Japan as well as other countries with which Japan has trade relationships.

If Viet Nam wants to export goods to Japan, its technology needs to be compatible with that of Japan in order to churn out products that meet the quality demand of this strict market, Son explained.

Koichiro Abe, CEO of Raycean Co from Japan, affirmed that cutting-edge techniques and marketing strategies can increase the value of agricultural goods.

During the event yesterday, Japanese firms discussed technologies Viet Nam could adopt in the areas of cultivation and livestock.

VN’s five-month agro-forestry-fishery exports

The country’s total exports of agro-forestry-fishery products witnessed positive year-on-year growth of 10 per cent to US$15.6 billion in the first five months of this year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) announced yesterday.

During the period, forestry products led the agro, forests and seafood export group with turnover of $3.4 billion, up 9 per cent year-on-year and accounting for nearly 22 per cent of the total export value.

Among major importers of Vietnamese wood and wood-based products were China, Japan, South Korea and the US.

The export value of key agricultural products reached $8.25 billion, up 10 per cent from the same time last year.

In May alone, the country raked in $347 million from shipping abroad some 452,000 tonnes of rice, bringing the total value of rice exports in the January-May period to $1.45 billion, up 40 per cent and 14 per cent.

The average rice price in the period experienced an increase of 13 per cent to over $500 per tonne.

China remained the largest buyer of Vietnamese rice, holding nearly 34 per cent of the market share.

According to MARD, seafood products contributed $3.12 billion to the group’s five month export turnover, a hike of 10 per cent year-on-year.

The ministry also said that the country spent $12.29 billion importing agro-forestry-fishery products during January-May, marking a yearly rise of 11 per cent.— VNS