Irish Food Board to increase exports of agricultural products to Vietnam

Ireland sees great potential to provide high-quality dairy products to the Vietnamese market, especially as tariffs will be reduced to zero percent on the first day of next year.

Thanks to the European Union (EU) and Vietnamese Free Trade Agreement (FTA) European dairy tariffs will be removed on January 1, 2023, after which Europe’s market share is expected to rise.

“As the country at the heart of Europe, we see the huge potential in the trade deal in exporting high quality of Ireland agro products to Vietnam,” said Ireland’s Minister for State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon T.D, affirming that Vietnam was an important strategic partner of Ireland.

Thanks to the EVFTA, Ireland will also enjoy the zero percent of tariff, which is currently 15%.

“The recognition of Vietnam as an important trade partner of the EU, along with the European Union's EVFTA taking effect from August 1, 2020, Bord Bia, the Irish Food Board, aims to introduce premium dairy products to Vietnamese customers,” said Minister Heydon.

Heydon said Europe is the largest dairy-producing region in the world, producing about 145 million tonnes of dairy products in 2021. Ireland, a traditional dairy farming powerhouse, has about 17,000 farms.

According to the Bord Bia, the Irish government agency that manages the promotion, trade development and marketing of the Irish food, drink and horticulture industry, Ireland has a herd of 1.6 million dairy cows producing 8.8 billion litres of milk, an average of 5,648 litres/head.

Bord Bia said Ireland exported more than 30 million euros of food and beverages to the Vietnamese market in 2021, an increase of 55% compared to 2020.

The minister said Ireland's dairy products like cheese, milk and powder exports to Vietnam increased by 159% in value in the first six months of 2022.

Nguyen Do Anh Tuan, Director of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development's International Cooperation Department, said Vietnam has export strengths in rice, coffee, rubber, pepper, cashew, tea, wood, etc. though also imports many shortage products like meat products, fertilisers and pesticides.

Michael Murphy, CEO of Bord Bia, who visited Vietnam with the minister, announced Bord Bia’s new three-year strategy outlines a target of 800 million euro in Irish food and drink exports to South East Asia by 2025, led by the Irish dairy and meat sectors.

In its Prioritising Markets - Opportunities for Growth study (2017), Bord Bia identified Vietnam and the wider South East Asia region as a priority destination for Irish food and drink exports, with high potential for dairy exports in particular.

As part of the trade mission, Minister Heydon will be meeting with representatives from Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to discuss market access issues and will also attend Bord Bia trade receptions with customers of Irish dairy, pork and seafood in Hanoi.

Ciaran Gallagher, Regional Director, South East Asia, Bord Bia, said: “With the population of South East Asia predicted to expand by a further 100 million people by 2050, there will be a growing import demand, and one that 'Ireland is ideally positioned to meet'."

He added: “Ireland and Vietnam share an understanding that security of supply is key to allowing both countries to plan ahead for growth and success and, as such, we are committed to developing durable business relationships with our customers here.”

He added that the ambition is to build further on the strong partnerships Ireland has with customers in Vietnam and that trade missions like this are a valuable means of raising the profile of Ireland as a food producing nation and unlocking commercial opportunities for Irish food and drink companies.

The degegation announced Bord Bia would be hosting an Ireland stand at Food & Hotel Asia (FHA) trade show in Singapore as part of the trade mission./.

Source: Vietnamplus