Phuc spoke at a forum titled “Market Development for Fruit and Vegetables, and Solutions for the Development of Logistics Systems for Agriculture and Rural Areas” held in the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap.

Phuc urged the region to continue to keep up with new trends in the global market and “take advantage of the fourth industrial revolution and apply advanced technologies in farming to produce the best quality fruit and vegetables.”

“Logistic plays a key role in enhancing competitiveness and promoting the global market for Vietnamese vegetables and fruits,” he said.

Bui Quoc Nghia, head of the Vietnam Logistics Institute, said the high cost of logistics was one of the barriers reducing the competitiveness of Vietnamese agricultural products in the world market.

Specifically, the ratio of logistic costs to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Vietnam is 20.8 percent, compared to 15.4 percent in China, 10.7 percent in Thailand, 13.5 percent in Asia Pacific, 9.2 percent in Europe, and 8.6 percent in North America.

The provincial People’s Committee, Institute of Organic Agriculture Economics, Lavifood Corporation and Greenland Business Group signed an agreement to promote the export of agricultural products from Vietnam to China via an official channel for the first time with a value of at least 500 million USD in the first two years and a gradual increase in coming years.

The Greenland Business Group is a wholly owned subsidiary of China Greenland Group, a leading importer and exporter of agricultural products in China and the Asia-Pacific region.

The forum, organised by the Institute of Organic Agricultural Economics and the Dong Thap provincial People’s Committee, was held to promote exports of Vietnamese fruits and vegetables as well as investment in the value chain of fruits and vegetables.

Vietnam is expected to earn 3.5 billion USD from shipping vegetables and fruits this year, representing a year-on-year growth of 45 percent, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

In 2017, China, Japan, the US, and the Republic of Korea were the four largest importers of Vietnamese fruits and vegetables, importing 2.15 billion USD, 102 million USD, 82 million USD and 73 million USD, respectively.

China was the dominant import market for Vietnam’s fruits and vegetables.

Japan, UAE, and China posted rising import turnover of Vietnamese fruit and vegetables, increasing by 66.1 percent, 58 percent, and 53.1 percent, respectively.

The country imported 1.25 billion USD in the first 10 months of the year, representing a year-on-year surge of 70.8 percent.

After attending the forum, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc visited Thuan Tan Club in Tan Thuan Tay commune, Cao Lanh city, Dong Thap province – a venue for Mekong Delta residents to share agricultural production experience.

Source: Vietnam.net