That was the affirmation of Minister of Agriculture and Environment (MARD) Do Duc Duy when working with Minister of Agriculture of Ohio (USA) - Mr. Brian Baldridge, on June 4 (US time).
Mr. Baldridge assessed that Vietnam - the United States in general and Ohio in particular are complementary, not directly competing between goods, especially in agricultural trade. Ohio recognizes Vietnam's potential as well as room to promote bilateral trade.
“We are proud to work with Vietnamese agricultural partners to open new opportunities for Ohio farmers, agribusinesses and rural communities,” he emphasized.
Notably, the two ministers agreed to propose to the two governments to have appropriate policies to avoid disrupting the supply chain.
Minister Do Duc Duy emphasized that not applying a reciprocal tax rate of up to 46% on some agricultural products is of great significance, not only protecting the interests of Vietnamese farmers and businesses, but also creating more jobs in the US agricultural supply chain. At the same time, US consumers also benefit from being able to access high-quality food sources at reasonable prices from Vietnam.
While Vietnam exports many tropical products such as coffee, cashew nuts, pepper, fruits, wooden furniture, etc., the United States and Ohio supply temperate products such as soybeans, beef, corn, raw wood, milk and dairy products. These are products that Vietnam does not have the advantage of large-scale production.
Next, at the Vietnam - Ohio business connection meeting with the participation of 50 businesses from each side, delegates agreed that there is still a lot of room to expand cooperation in the agricultural sector, especially agricultural trade.
Minister Do Duc Duy emphasized that the important goal of the forum is to move towards a more balanced trade balance.
In that spirit, the Vietnamese side has shared information with US businesses and distributors, especially in Ohio, who want to connect and build cooperative relationships. This is also an opportunity to promote the export of key products of the state that are of interest to the Vietnamese market such as corn, soybeans, raw materials for animal feed production and lumber.
At the forum, the parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the import of animal feed ingredients from Ohio, with a total value of more than 600 million USD. Many Vietnamese enterprises have connected with Ohio partners to promote the import of items such as raw wood, fruits and meat.
The timing of the agreements is significant for Ohio’s agricultural economy , as local producers face challenges such as rising production costs, falling commodity prices and the urgent need to expand into new markets for key products such as soybeans, grains, meat, lumber and many other agricultural products.
Ms. Lyndsey Erb - Director of Industry Relations, US Soybean Export Council (USSEC), expressed: “We closely follow the industrialization and modernization process in Vietnam, especially the impressive growth of the aquaculture industry. Vietnam has risen to the fourth position in the world in aquaculture production. It is estimated that the demand for soybean meal and animal feed products is also forecast to double by 2028”.
Previously, on June 2 in Iowa, USA, Vietnamese enterprises signed four important memorandums of understanding, with a total import value of agricultural products up to 800 million USD from US enterprises. In addition, the Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine established a dialogue channel with the Iowa Pork Producers Association, encouraging public-private cooperation between the two countries.
Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/lam-viec-o-hoa-ky-bo-truong-do-duc-duy-neu-quan-diem-ve-thue-doi-ung-2408682.html
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