Alain Chevalier
Senior Technical Advisor
Nguyen Thi Minh Thuy
Deputy National Program Director
VIETRADE EXPORT EXPERIENCE OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES IN AGRICULTURAL EXPORTS
General Economic Factors
China Vs. VIETNAM
CHINA VIETNAM
Population 1,380 million 93 million
GDP per capita USD 6,500 USD 1,685
GDP Growth rate 1.7 % 6.7 %
Inflation 2.3 % 2.8 %
Exports USD 2,011 billion USD 169 billion
Imports USD 1,437 billion USD 161 billion
Importing from: South Korea, US, Japan,
Germany, Australia
China, South Korea,
Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, US
Exporting to: US, Hong Kong, Japan,
South Korea
US, China, Japan, South
Korea, Hong Kong,
Netherlands
Vietnam Agricultural Sector
STRENGTHS:
• favorable natural conditions but serious climate change threat
• abundant labor (47 % VN labor force)
• low production cost
• high yield in most plants
WEAKNESSES:
• small scale and scattered production
• weak rural infrastructure
• most products are raw products
• post harvest technologies
• processing technology,
• quality management, certification of quality and food safety
• trading and distribution networks
• value chain integration (linkages)
• no market research, no market planning,
• branding
Vietnamese Agricultural Production &
Exports 2016
Agricultural production:
• rice, coffee, rubber, tea, pepper, soybeans, cashews, sugar cane, peanuts, bananas; poultry; fish, seafood
Agro-forestry-fishery exports
• increased to USD 32 billion (in spite of natural disasters)
Vietnamese Agricultural Production &
Exports 2016
Fruits and vegetables
• Vietnam exported USD 2.4 billion
• High world demand but price and quality competition
• Major obstacle: non-tariff barriers
• Vietnam has diversified products and markets (76 countries)
• China market continues to be the main export market (32% of Viet Nam F&V exports)
• Other countries importing from Vietnam: Japan, US, EU, Korea, Russia, Middle East
• High Vietnam transport and distribution costs
• Preservation technology
Vietnamese Agricultural Production &
Exports 2016
Viet Nam export growth in coffee, cashew nuts, pepper
Fishery exports: USD 7 billion
• Shrimp exports USD 3.2 billion
• Catfish exports USD 1.7 billion
Pigs exports 30 million heads (USD 1 billion to China)
Poultry exports 365 million heads
Export experience of
SECO-VIETRADE Program
LYCHEE: • China, EU (France, Netherlands), US, UAE, Korea, Russia
TEA
• Viet Nam 7th largest producer of tea in the world
• But 90 % of tea exports are of material not of finished
product (input to other countries tea industry no image in
world markets
• Green tea: China is no.1 producer, Viet Nam no.2
• Viet Nam challenges: low quality, low unstable export
price, outdated processing technology, harsh competition,
• Exports are 28 % of Viet Nam tea exports
• Main markets: Taiwan, Russia, Pakistan, Indonesia, US,
Germany, Poland, UK, Singapore, China
• China is a competitor to Viet Nam (very competitive
prices but non transparent management; it imports USD
28 million in bulk)
Export experience of
SECO-VIETRADE Program
OTHER FRESH FRUITS
• Main Viet Nam markets: China, Hong Kong
(trans-shipped to China), Korea, Japan, US,
Australia, EU
• Pomelo US, China, Russia, India
• China is a large exporter (16 % of world market)
and cheap but less taste and less juice than Viet
Nam pomelo
• Dragon fruit EU, China (had high demand in 2012-
2014 but started planting and prices went down),
Korea, Japan, US
• Mango: Korea, Japan, Australia
Export experience of
SECO-VIETRADE Program
SEAFOOD
•World exporters: China, Norway, Thailand, Vietnam (in this order)
•Dramatic expansion of aquaculture and consumption in China, China is now largest world exporter and 3rd largest world importer; in 2013, China exported USD 20 billion and imported USD 8 billion
•Fresh tuna
• Viet Nam ocean tuna from off shore fishing
• Viet Nam tuna output much smaller than US, Thailand, the Philippines, Ecuador
• Viet Nam tuna is of very high quality
• World demand is very high
• Main Viet Nam export markets: US, Japan, ASEAN, Israel, Tunisia, Canada, Mexico
• Tariff preferences are a strong competitive advantage
•Pangasius (“catfish”)
• Viet Nam is leading world exporter
• Frozen pangasius fillet is 81 % of market
• Main Viet Nam export markets: EU (Spain, Netherlands, Poland, Germany), US, China, Mexico, Southeast Asia
• China is still a small exporter
Export experience of
SECO-VIETRADE Program
PEPPER
• Vietnam is no. 1 world exporter, China is a competitor but
only relatively small producer
• Export prices are low, 86 % of Viet Nam exports are raw pepper
• Main Viet Nam markets: US, Germany, UAE, Netherlands, UK, Japan, Singapore, France, India, Egypt, Spain
• China had a 20 % import tax from VN in 2014
• China share in Vietnam import markets: US (8%), Germany (13 %), Singapore (8 %), Russia (16 %), Spain (big share)
Conclusion
China is a huge producer and consumer of agricultural products & a good potential export
market for most Vietnamese agricultural products
Chinese consumption habits are similar to Vietnamese
Being near to Vietnam, two-way trade is easier and cheaper than with most other countries
Two serious problems remain in the two-way trade: quality and informal trade.
Vietnamese consumers need quality assurance for goods imported from China.
Vietnamese exporters cannot learn good practices of quality management in export trade if
their exports to China are not in conformance with international standards
Informal distribution channels to China are not a good learning experience for Viet Nam
on other international markets
For many Vietnamese exports of agricultural products, China is both an importer and com
petitor on export markets. Chinese prices and quality are often lower than in international
markets
Vietnamese exporters have to do serious market research and market planning when
exporting to China.
China import duties are not significant for Vietnam agricultural exports to China
THANK YOU
The Program Management Unit
Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency, MoIT
4th floor, VIETRADE office, 20 Ly Thuong Kiet Street, Hoan
Kiem District, Ha Noi
Phone: 04.3934 7628 (ext: 89) Fax: 04. 32668533
Email: [email protected]