Just over a month after the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) came into effect, Vietnam's agricultural and aquatic product exports have continuously received good news regarding the EU market. The value of agricultural, forestry, and aquatic product exports to the EU in August 2020 reached US$350 million, a 17% increase compared to July 2020.
Here are some key achievements in Vietnam's agricultural and aquatic product exports over the past month:
Rice export value increased by over 90%, and fruit and vegetable exports increased by over 25%.
According to Mr. Nguyen Do Anh Tuan, Director of the International Cooperation Department (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), in the nearly one month since the implementation of the EVFTA, Vietnam's rice exports have achieved outstanding results.
Specifically, Trung An High-Tech Agriculture Joint Stock Company (Can Tho City) signed a contract to sell 3.000 tons of rice to three customers in the Federal Republic of Germany, consisting of two fragrant rice varieties: ST20 and Jasmine. Notably, the price of ST20 rice exported to the EU by Trung An High-Tech Agriculture Joint Stock Company reached over 1.000 USD/ton, while Jasmine rice reached approximately 600 USD/ton. In contrast, before the EVFTA came into effect, the export price of ST20 rice to the EU was only around 800 USD/ton, and Jasmine rice 520 USD/ton.
Overall, the export price of Vietnamese rice to the EU market has generally increased by 80-200 USD/ton, depending on the type, compared to the period before the EVFTA came into effect. It is estimated that the value of Vietnamese rice exports to the EU market in August 2020 reached over 1,2 million USD, an increase of 93,5% compared to July 2020 and a 35,6% increase compared to the same period last year.
Besides rice, Vietnamese fresh fruits and vegetables are also considered to have gained wider access to the EU market since August 1st. Currently, the EU is the fourth largest export market for Vietnamese fruits and vegetables under the EVFTA free trade agreement.
Mr. Tuan believes that this existing foundation, coupled with the import tax exemptions and reductions under the EVFTA, is boosting the competitiveness of Vietnamese fruits compared to competitors. In terms of figures, the value of Vietnamese fruit and vegetable exports to the EU market in August 2020 was estimated at US$14,7 million, an increase of 25,2% compared to July 2020 and a 6% increase compared to the same period in 2019.
Besides rice and vegetables, coffee is also expected to see an increase in export value to the EU market in the near future, thanks to the reduction of tariffs from 15% to 0%. The EU is Vietnam's largest coffee consumer market, accounting for 40% of the total volume and 38% of the total export value of the country (the average value of coffee exports to the EU has reached 1,2-1,4 billion USD/year over the past 5 years).
With a 10% increase in seafood orders, Vietnam's first shrimp export shipments have been dispatched.
From the beginning of August 2020 until now, seafood exports have seen an increase of approximately 10% in the number of orders compared to July 2020. The increase is mainly concentrated in shrimp and squid…
On September 11th, the first shipments of frozen shrimp products from Vietnam officially set sail for the EU, more than a month after the EVFTA agreement came into effect.
According to a report by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, in the one-month period from August 1st to August 31st, authorized organizations issued over 7.200 EUR.1 Certificates of Origin (C/O) worth US$277 million to 28 EU countries. The goods for which EUR.1 C/Os were issued mainly included footwear, seafood, plastics and plastic products, coffee, textiles, handbags, suitcases, fruits and vegetables, and rattan and bamboo products.
This demonstrates the level of interest from businesses and the importance of this market to Vietnam's exports since the EVFTA came into effect.
See more: Vietnam's economy is projected to grow in 2020 despite the challenges posed by COVID-19.
According to sources from the Customs Newspaper reporter, the following export activities will take place:
- The first shipment of passion fruit to the EU was exported on September 16th in Gia Lai under the EVFTA agreement.
- The ceremony marking the export of fruits to the EU under the EVFTA took place on September 17th in Ben Tre.
- Focus on boosting Vietnam's key export industries, such as tiger shrimp.
- Many businesses in the footwear industry have devised plans such as restructuring their operations, preparing factory infrastructure and raw materials to meet the commitments of the Agreement, and increasing investment in machinery to improve product quality.
Representatives from the Ministry of Industry and Trade emphasized that from now until the end of the year, the Ministry will continue to monitor and compile the EVFTA implementation plans of ministries, sectors, and localities to report to the Prime Minister; and coordinate with the Government Office to track and implement these plans.
In addition, the Ministry of Industry and Trade continues to organize the dissemination of information on commitments in the fields of goods trade, services trade, investment, plans for reducing/eliminating import tariffs on goods, and commitments on market access under the EVFTA Agreement to enhance the understanding of the people and businesses regarding the Agreement's commitments.
