Closely linking the Vietnam - US agricultural, forestry and fishery supply chain
(Chinhphu.vn) - On June 2 (US time), Minister of Agriculture and Environment Do Duc Duy led a working delegation with nearly 50 agencies, enterprises, and associations of Vietnamese agricultural products to start working and explore opportunities to promote trade and import agricultural, forestry, and fishery products from the United States, with the first stop being the state of Iowa.
The visit and working session of the delegation of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment of Vietnam to the United States demonstrates Vietnam's goodwill to promote trust in strategic partnership in the bilateral agricultural, forestry and fishery supply chain, thereby further nurturing the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
According to Minister Do Duc Duy, Vietnam and the United States are both countries with strengths in agriculture but are complementary to each other and do not compete directly.
"The most important thing is that with the participation of the two governments, the agricultural sectors of Vietnam and the United States are increasingly closely connected, sharing a common supply chain, thereby improving competitiveness and supporting the interests of producers and consumers in each country," the Minister emphasized.
Vietnamese agricultural enterprises have been strongly joining hands with the Government to increase purchases of US agricultural, forestry and fishery products, harmonizing the bilateral trade balance, thereby closely linking the agricultural, forestry and fishery supply chains of the two countries, contributing to ensuring global food security.
Nowadays, American consumers favor Vietnamese agricultural, forestry and fishery products, especially spices, fruits, seafood, and wooden furniture. Meanwhile, Vietnamese manufacturers increasingly have a need to import raw materials such as cornstarch, soybeans, meat products, milk, wood materials, farm equipment, and seedlings from the US.
Vietnamese businesses are ready to seek US partners to purchase US agricultural products with strengths such as animal feed ingredients, fertilizers and biological pesticides, meat products, cold-water seafood, and raw wood.
Minister Do Duc Duy and Deputy Minister Hoang Trung and delegations of agencies, enterprises and associations of Vietnam's agricultural sector attended the meeting.
Series of 800 million USD deals
At the meeting on June 2, Minister Do Duc Duy expressed his honor to lead a delegation of representatives from the Ministry's technical agencies, industry associations and Vietnamese agricultural enterprises to visit and work in Iowa. This trip promotes cooperation in agricultural, forestry and fishery trade between Vietnam and the United States, especially with the state of Iowa. Welcoming and working with the delegation, on behalf of the Iowa Department of Agriculture, were Secretary Mike Naig and Deputy Secretary Grant Menke.
Accordingly, the two Ministries reviewed and assessed the current status of agricultural trade cooperation between Vietnam and the state of Iowa, and shared information, needs and potential for business cooperation between the two sides. The discussion opened up a practical direction, promoting the export of high-quality agricultural, forestry and fishery products from the state of Iowa to the Vietnamese market and vice versa.
Secretary Mike Naig and Deputy Secretary Grant Menke, representing the Iowa Department of Agriculture, speak at the meeting.
Notably, the Vietnamese delegation accompanying Minister Do Duc Duy to the United States is expected to sign MoUs to purchase over 2 billion USD worth of US agricultural, forestry and fishery products.With Iowa alone, businesses and associations from both sides have signed five MoUs worth a total of about $800 million, to be implemented over three years. This is a significant increase compared to the previous average of $44 million in annual agricultural exports from Iowa to Vietnam.
Specifically, Khai Anh Binh Thuan Company agreed to import 1 million tons of soybean meal worth an estimated 380-390 million USD from its partner Ag Processing Inc (AGP). This enterprise also agreed to buy an additional 900,000 tons of corn and wheat from its partner United Grain, worth about 250 million USD.
Leaders of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment of Vietnam and the Department of Agriculture of Iowa witnessed the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding on trade cooperation in agriculture, forestry and fisheries.
Viet Nhat Nutrition Technology Joint Stock Company also signed a contract with POET Group to import 100,000 tons of dried distillers grains (DDGS) and 100,000 tons of dried soybeans, with a total value of 60-70 million USD.
Public-private cooperation between the two countries is also expanded in the MoU between the Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment) and the Iowa Pork Producers Association. Accordingly, both sides commit to strengthening trade relations, encouraging links between Vietnamese and Iowa producers through organizing technical seminars, promotional events, and trade connections.
Governor of Iowa Kim Reynolds receives Minister Do Duc Duy
Not only that, the seminar created opportunities for many other Vietnamese and US businesses to exchange, creating new opportunities to strengthen trade relations, promote the connection of the Vietnam - US agricultural, forestry and fishery supply chain, thereby increasing the transfer of advanced US technology to Vietnamese businesses, together towards the development of green, smart and sustainable agriculture.
Minister Do Duc Duy expressed his belief that the event will be the beginning of a period of deeper and more effective cooperation between the Vietnamese business community and the state of Iowa, demonstrating the goodwill of both sides to foster the comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and the United States.
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