The game is getting more and more strict

As Vietnam initiates the implementation of the WTO-SPS Agreement and SPS commitments within the framework of FTAs, the technical requirements for sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) are increasingly higher, thus the whole management system must be upgraded and perfected synchronously.

Vietnam SPS Office prognosticates that in the current general trend, there will be further developments in food safety standards, controlling residue levels and quarantine measures of many countries.

The Covid-19 pandemic, protectionism, trade conflicts arising in many places, and especially the US-China trade competition are forecasted to have long and complicated development.

The resumption of agro - forestry - fishery production and supply chain remain faced with many difficulties, greatly affecting the interest and motivation of parties involved in maintaining food safety and SPS assurance measures in the production of each country.

Along with globalization and information explosion, notably the remarkable increase in general living standards, consumers are now more conscious and experienced in choosing products. Food safety and SPS requirements are heightened with each passing day.

Today's consumers not only demand products to be high-quality and safe for health but also require the food product production chain to have good disease control, biosafe, in line with animal welfare, environmental protection, responsible exploitation.

Despite all these facts, in that global playground, Vietnam stays true to its commitment and complies with most international treaties, agreements, standards and practices.

One must change in order to travel the great sea

Recently, Vietnamese agro-products have reached the world level when they in turn conquer the most difficult markets such as Japan, the USA, and the EU.

There’s a prime example. In 2021 Loc Troi Group exported more than 80,000 tons of rice to the EU, UK, Africa, Australia, the Middle East and neighboring countries in Asia with a revenue of more than VND 1,000 billion.

The story of six tons of Luc Ngan lychee landing in Rotterdam, the Netherlands is a testament to the strong transformation of Vietnam's agricultural industry.

However, in the past year, many times, enterprises, business cooperatives and agro-product exporters have had to struggle when the market once considered easy such as China raises and strengthens technical barriers as an inevitable rule of the market development trend.

In fact, up to the present time, official export to the Chinese market is relatively difficult since unofficial import and export is always the first choice of Chinese traders because of low tax and simple procedure. And the fact that Vietnamese farmers, who sell goods regardless of whatever conditions they met, have made the habit of small-scale business engraved into their mind.

It’s within the expectation that China will no longer be an easy market like before. Cross-border trade will return to its true nature as "border residential exchange", aiming to improve the lives of borderland citizens.

If businesses consider the Chinese market like the Japanese or EU market and have a different approach, vision and way of handling the situation, everything will be simple. While if they still retain the experience, awareness and market access with the vision 10-20 years ago, they will lose a large market.

Many businesses have quickly adapted to the new rules of the game and initially had positive results.

Sharing at the "Online conference to connect consumption of winter vegetables from Red River Delta provinces" on November 20, 2021, Mr. Tran Phuong Minh, Director of Import-Export Department, Thagri Trading and Service Joint Stock Company, said that Vietnam's market still holds great potential.

Although logistics have had to face many hardships in recent years due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, a growth rate of more than 15% is still a very positive figure. The picture of exports in the near future seems bright and promising, with many more opportunities awaiting.

In accordance with the ideas at the conference, Ms. Nguyen Thi Diem Hang, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Nutrimart, shared that the quality of agricultural products of farmers has improved.

“However, our agro-products are still weak in terms of preliminary processing and packaging because the number of establishments is very small. From my many years of experience in exporting and retailing, I believe that localities need to invest more and thoroughly improve in preliminarily processing, processing and packaging to meet the standards of buyers,” said Ms. Nguyen Thi Diem Hang.

Translated by Samuel Pham