On May 6, Oxfam in Vietnam and the Vietnam Confederation of Trade and Industry (VCCI) held a seminar to kick off the project "Enhancing export capacity for small and medium enterprises in the spice industry". , Vietnamese fruits and vegetables – abbreviated SFV-Export”.

SPICES, VEGETABLES INTO EU MEETS CHALLENGES

Speaking at the seminar, Mr. Hoang Quang Phong, Vice President of VCCI said that the structure of fruit and vegetable exports to the continents in 2021 shows a clear shift with the proportion of fruit and vegetable exports to Europe. and the Americas increased while the share of exports to Asia decreased.

In 2021, the export value of vegetables and fruits to the European market has a high growth rate, reaching 303 million USD, an increase of 17.4% compared to 2020. Especially after the period of blockade and distance because of the Covid-19 epidemic. 19, the demand for food products, especially vegetable, fruit and vegetable products in the countries of the European Union is increasing.

Market potential, consumer demand for novel tropical fruits and vegetables in the EU is increasing, of which fresh fruit and vegetable products increase by 15-20%/year, processed products increase by more than 30%.

However, although Vietnam's fruit and vegetable products are considered to have many advantages, they have not taken advantage of the opportunities, so the market share in the EU is still very weak, this figure only accounts for less than 1% of the demand. European market.

The reason, according to Mr. Phong, is that Vietnam's export vegetables and fruits currently have some weaknesses that need to be overcome. That is the unbalanced structure between the products, the economic efficiency is not high, the output and quality are not stable, and the technical standard barrier of exported vegetables and fruits.

While Vietnamese vegetable, fruit and spice businesses are facing many challenges in accessing the European market. Vietnamese enterprises lack information and human resources to meet the requirements of quality standards of the European market.
 

In particular, businesses have few opportunities and lack of access to the European market. Vietnam's vegetable, fruit and spice industries lack effective mechanisms to build industry-wide capacity and promote products to the European market.

INCREASE EXPORT CAPACITY FOR BUSINESSES

To overcome the above shortcomings and weaknesses of Vietnamese fruit and vegetable exporters, VCCI has cooperated with Oxfam in Vietnam to build a project "Strengthening export capacity for small and medium-sized enterprises". in the Vietnamese fruit and vegetable industry”.

After efforts to propose the project, work with relevant partners and call for funding from the two sides from March 2021, the project has been agreed by the European Union to provide 80% of the funding for implementation. present project.

The project will be implemented for 2 years, from 2022 and ending on December 31, 2023. Vu Thi Quynh Hoa, Country Director of Oxfam in Vietnam, said that the project's goal is to support Vietnamese businesses in three industries (spices, vegetables, fruits) to increase export sales to the EU market. .

Activities include: helping businesses comply with EU market regulations and get certified to meet EU standards on food safety and sustainable practices; create opportunities for businesses to access business connections with EU partners; improve the capacity of the industry and the reputation of Vietnamese agricultural products.

In addition, Ms. Hoang Le Trang, SFV-Export Project Manager, Oxfam in Vietnam, said the intensive technical support project helps businesses comply and be certified to meet food safety standards. recognized by Europe such as IFS, BRC and Fairtrade certification.

At the same time, it supports marketing activities, market development, provides market information and connects businesses with potential partners from the European market.

Digitizing technical support and trade promotion on a specialized digital platform; support to improve policies and good practices related to workers, gender equality and environmental protection; promote multi-party cooperation to improve industry capacity and promote Vietnamese agricultural products to the European market.

In particular, the project will build and operate an advanced digital platform to provide fully and regularly updated market information, creating opportunities for Vietnamese businesses to connect with European customers. The project also promotes business support for digital transformation in supply chain management, corporate governance, marketing and commerce.

“We hope that more and more Vietnamese enterprises will be recognized to meet international standards for export. In addition to supporting businesses to meet technical standards, Fairtrade standards (gender equality, sustainable environment, rights for employees), Oxfam will connect multiple parties from state management agencies. , industry associations and businesses in the global production and supply chain of the spice and fruit and vegetable industry, "said Ms. Hoa.
 

- By Vu Khue VnEconomy