Promoting agricultural products to the US: Must be stringent right from trivial phases

Mr. Nguyen Dinh Tung, Director-general of Vina T&T Export - Import Service Trading Company Limited, an experienced business with several years of exporting agricultural products to the US said: “The US is a market with enormous potential since the dragon fruit was exported to the US in 2008, we have had eight fruits eligible for export to the market so far with increasing turn over”. 

Tung said that the pomelo is prepared to be certified for exportation to the US and it is regarded as a promising product with numerous strengths. 

Besides fruits, the export turnover of Vietnam’s rice to the US is expanding annually. Notably, Americans are paying attention to both rice serving processing and restaurants as well as high-quality rice for cooking at home. 

“Vietnamese fragrant rice has set a strong foothold in the US market, superior to Thailand rice”, Vina T&T evaluated. 

Stringent control from the very initial phases 

Sharing the experience of the agricultural products to fulfill the US’ needs and standards, Tung underlined that all stages must be regulated tightly right from the beginning. 

“Planting areas must be provided with codes, packaging facilities must be authorized by the US side and each product lot must be reviewed by the US specialists during the irradiation”, the head of the firm added. 

Thereby, to export products to the US market, Vietnamese firms must prepare well and adapt to standards set by the partner.  

Overall, Tung highlighted that there should be a concentrated and systematic investment to join the market: “From the beginning, enterprises should link to experienced units. Otherwise, they need a significant and methodical investment”. 

"Even though the products are sold in the US, if they do not meet the standards during a random check, the exporter will be blacklisted and even all products on their way to the US must be returned," he provided as a depiction of the stringent requirements in even the most trivial phases of exporting agricultural products to the US. 

A close connection is recommended

To maximize the potential of the U.S. market, Nguyen Dinh Tung asserted that firms, cooperatives, and state management agencies must establish tight connections. 

"We must develop a massive planting area in accordance with a synchronized standard. As a consequence, businesses may have more choices for supply sources and be able to sell to other countries, including the United States, Europe, Japan, Australia, and even China", according to the head of Vina T&T. 

According to Tung, firms would save the most time and money in controlling the quality of agricultural inputs if they are ready to fulfill the tasks. 

In addition, he anticipated that following the working trip of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan to the US, more tropical fruits of Vietnam, such as passion fruit and fresh durian, may be promoted to the US market.