Vietnamese fruits exported to UK to have less burdensome checks and requirements

On the morning of April 3, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien met and worked with UK Ambassador to Vietnam Iain Frew on the cooperation and trade in agriculture between the two countries, as well as upcoming opportunities for both sides.

Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien affirmed that the United Kingdom is an important partner of Vietnam. Highlighting some achievements in Vietnam's agriculture sector in the past period, Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien informed that in 2023, agricultural, forestry, and aquatic product exports reached over 53 billion USD, with a trade surplus of 12.07 billion USD, accounting for over 50% of the total trade surplus of the entire economy. The Deputy Minister noted that Vietnamese agricultural products are present in over 200 countries and territories, with Vietnam prioritizing food security and making significant contributions to global food security. In 2023, Vietnam exported 8.13 million tons of rice, aquatic products worth 9.01 billion USD, and forestry products reaching 14.31 billion USD. However, livestock products are still limited, with only 1.4 billion USD in animal feed exports. The Deputy Minister expressed confidence that these figures will increase as cooperation between Vietnam and the UK tightens in the future.

Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien stated that Vietnam desires comprehensive cooperation in agriculture with the UK, especially in learning from the UK's large farm model to develop material regions linked to processing within a circular ecosystem. Coordinating in training human resources, especially high-quality human resources, is also a concern and urgent requirement of Vietnam's agriculture sector. In addition, cooperation in veterinary work, particularly in vaccine research, and agricultural science and technology is also a significant demand from Vietnam.

For the part of the UK, Ambassador Iain Frew expressed his impression to the numbers relating to exports and agricultural market development of Vietnam. He adds his thanks for the support of Vietnam to the UK's accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) trade agreement which builds on the bilateral UK-Vietnam free trade agreement to create even more opportunities for trade and market access between the two countries.

“I think we're seeing some really good increases in the bilateral trade volumes between our two countries. I know that Vietnam's agriculture and food exports to the UK are now over half a billion pounds. And that the UK's exports to Vietnam, while a smaller number, only a quarter of that size, are still growing as well”, Mr.Frew assessed. 

He also saw that free trade agreements have a lot of impact. For example, it affects consumers and affects what consumers of the two countries see in the markets and in their supermarkets.

To talk about cooperation in the agricultural sector, as well as to promote cooperation in the agricultural sector, the Ambassador noted three things.

The first is the information on post-Brexit regime of inspections and import requirements, particularly for the agri-food area.

At the end of this month, a new regime of requirements comes into force in the UK. Vietnam is one of only 20 countries that has been assessed to have less burdensome checks and requirements, particularly around fruit imports. This is a very positive result, and shows the level of information sharing and trust that allows the two countries to get to this point.

The second issue is on the importation from the UK of pork and poultry products. The UK side were hoping by the end of last year to see UK products in pork and poultry arrive in Vietnam. The registered establishments that have been agreed unfortunately are not yet able to export into the market and still need a final approval of registration of their cold stores. So the Ambassador would ask for feedback, affirming that his side stands ready to continue that cooperation on pork and poultry.

And the final issue is to reinforce the point made on the two sides’ cooperation on science and animal health. Mr. Frew said that it was wonderful to see the cooperation on antimicrobial resistance between the two countries and the UK is delighted to support through the Fleming Fund and through the One Health Poultry Hub the work that Vietnam is doing to tackle the very serious risk to animal and human health.

In response to the opinions of the UK Ambassador to Vietnam, Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien affirmed that Vietnam supports the UK's participation in the CPTPP. Vietnamese agricultural exports to the UK are quite diverse and relatively large-scale. Thanks to the active cooperation between the two sides, the trade volume of Vietnamese agricultural products to the UK is very high.

"The fact that Vietnam is among the top 20 countries benefiting from reduced burdensome checks and requirements by the UK for agricultural products will help achieve the goal of exporting Vietnamese agricultural products to the UK to over 1 billion USD in the shortest time possible," Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien said.

Regarding the cold storage system accompanying facilities for registering the export of chicken and pork to Vietnam, the Director of the Department of Animal Health, Nguyen Van Long, proposed that the UK provide additional information in the dossier and send it for review and approval to facilitate the earliest possible import.

For beef and lamb products from the UK, the Department of Animal Health suggested providing documents as required by Vietnam for processing. Regarding animal protein meal products, the Department of Animal Health will consider the dossier after issuing a new regulation on quarantine.

On the issue of antimicrobial resistance, in May 2023, the Prime Minister approved the National Strategy on Antimicrobial Resistance Prevention and Control in Vietnam for the period 2023 - 2030, with a vision to 2045. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development was tasked with developing a national plan to implement this strategy. Mr. Long expected support from the UK to effectively implement this strategy.