Boosting sustainable supply chain to capture US market

The dreaming market in the eyes of agricultural exporters

Chanh Thu Export-Import Fruit Company is one of the Vietnamese businesses joining the working trip of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to the US from May 11-17 to seek trade opportunities. Director Ngo Tuong Vy of the company shared that although being staggered by the Covid-19 pandemic over the past two years, the US is a giant importing market, with huge purchase power and sees a diversity of types and demands for commodities. The agricultural importing and exporting activities are not excluded from the factors. 

Currently, the agricultural trade activity of the US takes a great proportion of the world’s agricultural trade since it serves as a key partner and a dreaming market in the eyes of agricultural exporters including Vietnam in general and Chanh Thu in particular. 

Agricultural export to the US market is a strength of Vietnam over the past years but it is changing rapidly when the market has introduced several stringent regulations and technical barriers that require exporters to adapt flexibly. 

This is either an opportunity or a challenge for Vietnamese enterprises. Once Vietnamese enterprises prepare well in all factors including raw material sources, technique, humans, products’ quality, and adherence to the international regulations, it would serve as a stepping-stone to promoting Vietnamese fruit brand names closer to the US.

What activities would Chanh Thu plan following its participation in a series of activities during MARD Minister Le Minh Hoan's working trip to the United States? 

We are lucky to accompany Minister Le Minh Hoan on this tour. 

The trip allowed us to recognize the Minister's and MARD's attempt to lead and assist the entrepreneurship community, which is a major source of inspiration for Vietnamese businesses. It also affirms that the United States is always regarded as a major and leading economic and commercial partner. 

Following the trip, we will return to Vietnam to establish a supply chain with agricultural businesses and partners that we met while participating in several events in the US.   

Chanh Thu Company will gain an insight into the US fruit market, as well as the real demands of American consumers and their opinions on the quality and prices of Vietnamese fruits in comparison to well-known agricultural markets like Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, among others. Thus, we may create more suitable and diverse strategies to promote the products to the United States. 

For the development of Vietnam's agriculture as a whole, Vietnamese businesses must also promote solidarity and collaboration based on responsibility. We must work together to build and establish a sustainable supply chain, accumulating greater resources through collaboration among Vietnamese businesses. To capture huge supermarket systems in the United States, the power we generate will support the development of a healthy atmosphere for competition.  

Expecting the launch of a forum to promote the pictures of Vietnamese fruits 

Do you have any suggestions for the governments and associations of the two nations to enhance agricultural trade between Vietnam and the United States? 

Our businesses anticipate further assistance from the government and MARD. We also anticipate that the US side would soon open its market for Vietnamese pomelo and some other fruits in the coming time such as fresh durian and passion fruit among others. 

We hope that the government will create more opportunities and forums to promote the images of Vietnamese fruits to international friends, including the US market so that Americans can gain a better understanding of premium Vietnamese fruits such as mango, lychee, longan, star apple, coconut, dragon fruit, and durian. 

It is a pleasure to see more opportunities opened for agricultural cooperation between Vietnam and the US following the efforts of the former. We anticipate that the scope of collaboration will include not only trade but also new technology to modernize and increase the competitiveness of our agriculture. 

Again, I would want to express my gratitude to the Government, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Ministers, and representatives of departments and agencies for supporting and facilitating our participation in this work trip. I am confident that Vietnam's agriculture will make significant progress soon. 

Thank you!