Increasing sanitary inspection, Vietnam - Mexico further open agro-product market

On June 10, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Quoc Doanh had a meeting with Mexican Ambassador to Vietnam Alejandro Negrín Muñoz in Hanoi and listened to issues concerning sanitary inspection as well as market opening for Mexico’s export agro-products to Vietnam.

On the occasion of this meeting, Mr. Alejandro wanted to convey some specific messages of the Mexican Government to the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development as well as the Government of Vietnam.

In the context of the comprehensive bilateral trade cooperation relationship, the Mexico side wishes to quicken the process of signing agreements with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Mexico and Vietnam currently have three agreements on agriculture and rural development, including a Memorandum of Understanding on agricultural cooperation, especially in the fields of agricultural and fishery products. “The Mexican side has two Agreements that are in the process of accelerating completion. We look forward to receiving the support from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development so that we can sign the agreement as soon as possible.”

Ambassador Alejandro also mentioned the issue of increasing opportunities for Mexican products to enter the Vietnam market. “Vietnam is a country with complete dominance in terms of bilateral trade balance, having extremely strong competitiveness. I believe that Vietnam's exports to Mexico will continue to thrive. Hopefully Mexican products will also have many opportunities to access the Vietnam market. This will become an action that we would highly appreciate as it creates a premise to balance the two sides' trade, even at a minimum rate."

Mr. Alejandro emphasized the enthusiasm, hospitality and activeness of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in the long-term working process with the Mexican Embassy. The Vietnam side had exchanged information concerning meat sanitary issues and registered meat importers, especially providing assistance to the Mexico side in complying with Vietnam's regulations on market access for imported meat products such as fish, beef and pork.

According to Ambassador Alejandro, the Mexico side wished to welcome Vietnamese sanitary inspection authorities to Mexico so that the units can gain a direct view of the situation of Mexican facilities exporting food to Vietnam. The visit would help businesses in Mexico acquire more information, quickly improve and meet Vietnam’s sanitary regulations. At the same time, the Mexico side also proposed an online meeting with the competent authorities in Vietnam to further understand the requirements of certification and registration procedures for Mexican food exporters to Vietnam.

Deputy Minister Le Quoc Doanh said that the Vietnam - Mexico relationship was developing very well, and there were still many opportunities to further improve bilateral trade as the products of the two sides were less competitive and instead possessed complementary effects. The Deputy Minister expressed his agreement with the view that the two countries’ agriculture should be promoted in a more substantive and methodical manner.

Regarding the signing of a number of legal documents, according to reports from units under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, currently the two sides have three agreements under negotiation: the Agricultural Comprehensive Partnership Agreement, Sanitary Cooperation Agreement, and Phytosanitary Cooperation Agreement. Both parties have basically agreed on documents of the first two agreements and are waiting for a suitable time to come to the signing. The Phytosanitary Cooperation Agreement is still under negotiation.

Deputy Minister Le Quoc Doanh will assign the Department of Animal Health and Plant Protection Department to interact with the Mexican Embassy in Vietnam so that both sides can have a meeting soon to discuss sanitary regulations. Relevant departments will quicken the process of signing documents as well as receive and review import-export registration dossiers.

Deputy MInister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Quoc Doanh mentioned some backlogs in the field of shrimp exports. Vietnamese shrimp was one of the most prestigious export products in the world. Consumers were very satisfied with the quality of Vietnamese shrimp. However, due to various reasons, in 2013 Mexico halted the importation of Vietnamese shrimp, and Vietnam had had a full explanation for this matter. Deputy Minister Le Quoc Doanh hoped that the Mexican Embassy would have influence within authority so that the Mexican side could reconsider continuing to import Vietnamese shrimp into this market.