Opening of the Conference on connecting and promoting trade of agricultural and aquatic products in Ca Mau

On the morning of November 15, 2024, the People's Committee of Ca Mau province coordinated with the Ministry of Industry and Trade to organize a conference to connect and promote trade of agricultural and aquatic products of Ca Mau province in 2024.

The conference on connecting and promoting trade of agricultural and aquatic products in 2024 was attended by Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Phan Thi Thang, Vice Chairman of Ca Mau Provincial People's Committee Le Van Su, departments, branches and localities in the province; Vietnam Trade Office in Singapore, Japan, India, China and the United States.

Especially, there were the participation of import enterprises from Singapore, China, Malaysia, Korea, Japan, India, Hong Kong (China) and large domestic supermarket chains (AEON, Coopmart, Central Retail, Bach Hoa Xanh, Kingfood Mart), import-export companies, associations, business support organizations; along with more than 50 enterprises processing, exporting seafood, producing OCOP products, specialties in Ca Mau province.

View of the conference on connecting and promoting trade of agricultural and aquatic products in 2024 in Ca Mau province. Photo: Tieu Ket

Speaking at the opening of the conference, Vice Chairman of the Ca Mau Provincial People's Committee Le Van Su emphasized the importance of the agricultural and fishery sector to the provincial economy , and expressed his desire to enhance the position of OCOP products and local specialties. He also expressed the importance of international economic integration, especially in the context of increasingly fierce competition.

Vice Chairman of Ca Mau Provincial People's Committee Le Van Su delivered the opening speech at the Conference. Photo: Tieu Ket

"Ca Mau is one of the four key fishing grounds of Vietnam with an area of ​​over 70,000 ^km2 , with 280,000 hectares of aquaculture area, with an annual shrimp output of about 250,000 tons, providing local raw materials for 41 seafood processing factories, with an export turnover of about 1 billion USD/year. Compared with other shrimp exporting powers, Ca Mau said it has a great competitive advantage thanks to value-added products, these products have helped Ca Mau maintain its market share in demanding markets such as the US, Europe, Japan, Australia, Korea for many years...

In addition to shrimp, Ca Mau crab is also a product with a special competitive advantage, outstanding with its delicious, sweet, and firm taste, which is difficult to compare anywhere else. Ca Mau crab is raised interspersed with shrimp and other aquatic species on an area of ​​about 250,000 hectares, with an output of about 25,000 tons per year." , Vice Chairman of Ca Mau Provincial People's Committee shared.

According to the Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Ca Mau province, Ca Mau currently has 151 OCOP products recognized. Of which, 29 products have 4 stars, 122 products have 3 stars; the basic entities ensure production capacity conditions, production linkage, quality certification such as ISO, VietGAP, HACCP, product labels and packaging, with clear traceability.

In addition to the achieved results, the leaders of Ca Mau province also shared the difficulties in trade promotion activities, export situation, and finding stable output for the province's products. At the same time, they expressed their desire to receive support from import enterprises and distributors to improve product quality and better meet market requirements.

At the conference, Deputy Minister Phan Thi Thang highly appreciated the potential of Ca Mau, according to which this locality owns the largest fishing ground in the country and has strongly developed exported aquatic products such as shrimp, crab, and sea fish, meeting the strict standards of many demanding markets such as the United States, Japan and the EU.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Phan Thi Thang chaired the Conference. Photo: Tieu Ket

"In recent times, Ca Mau has promoted the development of concentrated, large-scale, stable-yield agricultural raw material areas; applied advanced technical processes; promoted the development of warehouse systems and logistics services to reduce logistics costs...

The above policies on agricultural production development and logistics infrastructure improvement have really brought about remarkable results in the production and export of agricultural and aquatic products of Ca Mau province in 2024. Ca Mau's key agricultural and aquatic products have been present in more than 60 countries and territories around the world, even in extremely demanding markets such as Japan, the United States, the EU...

In the past 10 months, the total export turnover of Ca Mau province reached about 1.1 billion USD, an increase of 10% over the same period in 2023, mainly due to the export growth of key agricultural and aquatic products of Ca Mau province such as shrimp, fish, crab, squid, rice, honey, fresh fruit...", Deputy Minister Phan Thi Thang emphasized.

Recognizing the efforts of Ca Mau province in maintaining production, developing raw material areas, and building an effective logistics system, Deputy Minister Phan Thi Thang affirmed that the Ministry of Industry and Trade will continue to accompany and support businesses in seizing opportunities, expanding markets, and enhancing the value of Vietnamese agricultural and aquatic products in the international market.

Director of the Department of Industry and Trade of Ca Mau province Nguyen Chi Thien introduced the province's economic cooperation potential at the Conference. Photo: Tieu Ket

Through the Conference, representatives of trade counselors of the countries also shared and provided a lot of information about the potential and import demand in local markets as well as proposed solutions to help export enterprises of Ca Mau province access the market.

This year's conference focuses on discussing and introducing the potential and opportunities for exporting Ca Mau's key products; opportunities and challenges for exports in 2024 and the following years; potential and notes for exports to Singapore, Japan, China, and the United States; market demand for Ca Mau OCOP products; signing memorandums of understanding between businesses;...

At the same time, there are booths displaying and promoting exported seafood products, OCOP products, and specialties of Ca Mau province; showing a film promoting Ca Mau tourism, introducing to foreign visitors the cultural identity of the South through traditional art performances.

The conference is expected to help key agricultural and aquatic products of Ca Mau province access potential markets, and is also an opportunity for the province to re-evaluate production organization and product quality management, in order to build a sustainable value chain.

Source: https://congthuong.vn/khai-mac-hoi-nghi-ket-noi-xuc-tien-thuong-mai-san-pham-nong-thuy-san-tai-ca-mau-358927.html