Agriculture

The Viet Nam Food Association (VFA) expects to export 1.8 million tonnes of rice for the second quarter this year, said association chairman Nguyen Hung Linh.

Authorities in the Cuu Long (Mekong) River Delta are planning to switch from low-yield rice to higher-value crops like maize, sesame, peanut, soybean, and others on 112,000ha by 2015, the Crop Production Department has said.

The third General Assembly of the Asian Food and Agriculture Cooperation Initiative (AFACI) met in Hanoi on April 23, attracting representatives from AFACI member countries and international organizations.

China remained Vietnam’s largest export market for rice during the first quarter of 2014, accounting for 40% of market share.

Nang Thom Cho Dao rice and Chau Thanh dragon fruit, which are special food of the Mekong delta Long An province, have received certified trademarks from the United States Patent and Trademarks Office (USTPO). The certificates will be valid for 10 years.

The Vietnam Food Association (VFA) forecasts rice exports in the second quarter of the year will continue to face fierce competition from Thai rice and domestic rice market fluctuations.

Viet Nam’s businesses exported 583,294 tons of rice in March, up 77.7% in quantity compared to the previous month.

More than 100 tonnes of Vietnamese watermelon are shipped to the Chinese market everyday through the Lao Cai International Border Gate.

Vietnam exported 1.31 million tonnes of rice valued at US$616 million during the first three months of 2014, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Despite a huge demand for healthy clean produce, vegetables meeting Vietnamese Good Agricultural Practices (VietGap) standards are in short supply on the market.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on March 15 presided over a conference in Can Tho addressing pressing matters to provide adequate funding for agricultural rice production and consumption.

Viet Nam will help Mozambique to research and develop food crops in the 2013-2017 period.

Data of the General Statistics Office (GSO) showed that Vietnam’s seafood exports to Japan with shrimp being the key product hit over 108,000 tons worth US$1.1 billion in 2013, up nearly 3% against the previous year.

Seafood exports shot up 23.5% and fetched US$919 million and key forestry products skyrocketed up 30.2% to US$837 million, compared to the same period last year.

Vietnam`s agriculture have drawed more and more foreign visitors

The catfish inspection programme stated in the US ’s 2014 Farm Bill should abide by the country’s international commitments and not create trade barriers.

Vietnam now exports rice to more than half of all 55 African countries and its major importers are Ivory Coast, Ghana, Senegal, Angola and Cameroon.

Agriculture Minister Cao Duc Phat is scheduled to deliver a keynote speech at the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2014 in Davos, Switzerland, this week.

The Vietnam-Chile Free Trade Agreement (FTA), entering into effect early this year, will usher in a prosperous future for agro-forestry and husbandry exchanges between the two countries.

Government economists are predicting significant expansion for Vietnam’s agricultural exports in 2014.