Vietnam’s five-month tea export sees strong growth
Vietnam exported 48,000 tonnes of tea in the first five months of this year, raking in 73 million USD, representing year-on-year increases of 14.3 percent in volume and 12.4 percent in value.
In May alone, export volume was estimated at 10,000 tonnes with turnover of 17 million USD, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
However, the tea price for export in the last five months decreased 3.8 percent compared to the same period last year, to 1,452 USD per tonne on average.
India was the top consumption market of Vietnamese tea in the period, with export volume to the market increasing 11.6 times year-on-year.
It was followed by Poland, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Taiwan (China) and Russia, with respective rises of 93.6 percent, 77.5 percent, 44.3 percent and 17.5 percent.
However, exports to Pakistan, the biggest market of Vietnam’s tea with 25.5 percent of the market share, decreased by 1.4 percent in volume and 6.3 percent in value compared to the same period last year.
The Vietnam Tea Association (VITAS) predicted that the country’s export volume in 2017 will increase by about 10 percent from 2016.
Vietnam exports tea to 110 countries and territories worldwide, with the Vietnamese tea brand registered for protection in 70 countries and regions.
Vietnam’s key tea export markets are Afghanistan, Indonesia, Russia, Pakistan, Taiwan (China), the US, China, the UK and the UAE.
Vietnam mainly exports black tea, accounting for about 78 percent of total tea exports.
According to Nguyen Huu Tai, President of the VITAS, Vietnam has great potential to expand production of “Shan Tuyet” tea, which is hoped to become a key tea product for export soon.
Vietnam is the world's seventh largest tea producer and among the top five tea exporters. However, the country ships mainly material tea and low-value tea products.
Experts said Vietnam should look to export high-value tea products instead, adding that the State needs to change management institutions to support tea producers and exporters.
Source: VNA Date: 2017-06-07
Beef-import discussions set to start
US Department of Agriculture officials are scheduled to meet their counterparts in China this week as both nations prepare for the resumption of US beef exports to the mainland on July 16.
In May, China and the US reached new trade deals that partially open market access for a variety of industries, including beef, financial services and energy.
"I expect that the talks will focus on the final details of the access protocols (requirements) for US beef and perhaps any remaining issues related to plant certifications," said Derrell Peel, a professor at Oklahoma State University.
He believes that China will insist on some requirements for US beef. "I expect that access will have requirements for source verification as well as the exclusion or limitations of production technologies, especially beta agonists (growth promoting feed additives such as ractopamine) and possibly synthetic growth hormones," Peel said.
It appears that China is likely to require producers to document the locations where cattle raised for export to China are born and slaughtered, according to the USDA.
Ted Schroeder, a professor of agricultural economics at Kansas State University, said the lifting of the ban will be an important development for the US beef industry.
"US beef is produced for a higher-quality, higher-marbling market than the mostly grass fed beef produced by China's existing major import country sources," Schroeder said. "Canada is the only significant supplier to China of higher quality grain-fed beef and, the market potential for supplying grain-fed beef to China from the US will gain momentum."
Schroeder said if US exports to China increase quickly, US beef prices would increase a bit until the beef supply is adjusted. "Once US beef producers respond to these increased prices for cattle resulting from the exports and expand cattle production, the US consumer would see prices largely return to levels prior to the export market development," he said.
Peel said that he doesn't expect a specific quota or legal limitation to US beef imports, but he believes that the requirements China places on US imports will inherently limit the amount of US beef in China.
"I believe the Chinese market has very significant potential for US beef in the long run, but will be a work in progress and something of a moving target initially," he said.
Schroeder said Australia, New Zealand and Uruguay are the largest beef exporters in China now. China banned US beef in 2003 after an incident of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease, in the state of Washington.
Source: China Daily Date: 2017-06-06
China, UN agency seek cooperation on agriculture
China's Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) representative office in China have released a planning framework for agriculture cooperation in the 2016-2020 period.
The framework outlines four major fields for cooperation: jointly pushing sustainable agricultural development, reducing rural poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition, as well as improving public hygiene and supporting China in regional and international agriculture cooperation.
"China's agricultural development still faces multiple challenges such as market changes and pressures from climate change. The planning framework would enable China to better cope with the difficulties," said MOA official Tang Shengyao.
After years of bumper harvests, China no longer struggles with food shortages, but structural problems remain: agricultural products are oversupplied and some are still heavily imported, while homegrown produce struggles to compete with foreign rivals.
To address the issue, Chinese policymakers have pledged to focus more on supply-side structural reform in the sector in 2017, including efforts to accelerate agricultural modernization and enhance the competitiveness of farm produce.
China's grain output decreased 0.8 percent from a year earlier to 616.24 million tonnes in 2016
Source: Xinhua News Agency Date: 2017-06-05
Seminar discusses hi-tech application in dairy farming
A seminar on the application of high technology in dairy farming was held in Hanoi on June 2.
Tong Xuan Chinh, deputy head of the Department of Livestock Production under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that Vietnam’s dairy farming has yet to meet the demand of more than 90 million people.
Some localities have a large number of dairy cows such as Ho Chi Minh City with 90,000 heads, Nghe An with 62,000 and Hanoi with 15,000.
However, there was no firm connection between businesses and farmers, causing many difficulties for farmers.
Many experts said that Vietnam needs to promote breeding structure transfer and devise land planning for raising ruminants like buffaloes and cows.
It is necessary to encourage all economic sectors to invest in large-scale dairy cow breeding that applies high technology, they added.
Standing Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Ruminant Husbandry Association Le Van Thong said that the country currently has more than 24,000 dairy farms with nearly 283,000 milk cows which yield 800,000 tonnes of fresh milk and meet about 40 percent of consumers’ demand.
Statistics of the General Department of Vietnam Customs showed that in 2016, Vietnam spent more than 849 million USD importing milk. The figure was over 214 million USD in first three months of 2017, down 10.6 percent year-on-year.
Per capita milk consumption in Vietnam is estimated at 22 litres per year, compared to the world average level of 104 litres per year.
Thong pointed out shortcomings in dairy farming in Vietnam such as limited application of advanced and modern technology and inconsistent State policies.
At the event, experts also shared technical measures and advanced technology in breed selection, feed processing and disease prevention, along with measures to increase reproductive ability and milk productivity.
Source: VNA Date: 2017-06-05
Chinese counties to pilot agricultural disaster insurance
A total of 200 major grain-producing Chinese counties will pilot agricultural disaster insurance this year and next year to improve their ability to counter natural disasters, according to the Ministry of Finance.
The 200 pilot counties, which mainly plant rice, wheat and corn, are located in 13 major grain-producing provinces in China, including the top three producers, Heilongjiang, Henan and Shandong.
The pilot projects will focus on improving insurance coverage and compensation standards for farmers with relatively large grain cultivation operations.
The finance ministry encouraged local governments to explore customized insurance services and share experience.
The disaster insurance system is designed to ease financial burdens for the government as post-disaster reconstruction is mostly financed by the state.
Source: Xinhua News Agency Date: 2017-06-05
Cashew production forecast to drop nearly 20 percent in 2017
Vietnam is expected to harvest only 0.87 tonnes of cashew nuts per ha in 2017, 0.21 tonnes or nearly 20 percent less than 2016’s output per ha, heard a conference in Ho Chi Minh City on June 1.
Le Van Duc, deputy head of the Department of Crop Production under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), blamed the yield decrease on unseasonal rains in January-March, which destroyed cashew flowers.
Meanwhile, local farmers have neglected extreme weather developments and diseases on cashew trees, said participating businesses.
A report released by the MARD shows that cashew output in the southern province of Binh Phuoc contracted by about 17.41 percent per ha; southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, 15.13 percent; and the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong, over 50 percent.
Representatives from cashew-growing provinces said the bad harvest was more noticeable in reality as several localities have yielded zero.
Therefore, the country’s total cashew nut output is forecast to hit over 252,000 tonnes in 2017, decreasing nearly 52,000 tonnes compared with the previous year’s figure. The amount meets only around 15-20 percent of businesses’ demands for raw cashew nuts.
Given this, Nguyen Trung Anh, director of the research and development centre of PAN Group, suggested local farmers pay more heed to intensive cultivation and technological improvement.
Nguyen Duc Thanh, Chairman of the Vietnam Cashew Association (VCA), said the unexpected reduction may affect business plans of cashew processors.
To ensure sustainable development for the cashew sector in the time ahead, he suggested the MARD adjust the national cashew development strategy until 2020 by expanding the cashew area from 340,000 ha to 400,000 ha.
MARD Deputy Minister Le Quoc Doanh urged the VCA to boost its connectivity with localities and farmers to ensure stable cashew production areas.
In 2016, cashew nut was Vietnam’s major farm produce, only behind coffee in terms of export value. The country shipped 348,000 tonnes of cashew nuts for 2.84 billion USD, up 5.6 percent in volume and 18.4 percent in value from a year ago.
Source: VNA Date: 2017-06-02
Vietnam’s food industry attractive to foreign investors
Several foreign firms have recently acquired stakes in Vietnamese food processing enterprises, showing the local food industry’s increasing attractiveness.
CJ Cheil Jedang (CJ) of the Republic of Korea (RoK) purchased 71.6 percent of shares of the Cau Tre Export Goods Processing JSC (Cau Tre) – a prestigious food processor in Vietnam.
Previously, it also bought Minh Dat Food, a big meatball producer in the local market.
According to Chairwoman of Cau Tre’s Board of Directors Tran Thi Hoa Binh, the merger with the foreign partner helped the Vietnamese firm expand capital sources and access new technologies, diversifying its products and increasing competitiveness. Meanwhile, the foreign partner benefits from Cau Tre’s advantages and experience in the domestic market.
Along with CJ, Daesang Corp of the RoK purchased 13 million shares of Duc Viet food in March this year.
Food makers from Thailand and Japan are also enhancing trade promotion programmes and seeking more partners in Vietnam.
According to the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) in Ho Chi Minh City, the value of Japan’s food export to Vietnam reached 7.5 billion USD a year, with Japan aiming for a 30-percent growth of the export by 2019.
JETRO said it will work with Japanese retail systems such as Ministop, FamilyMart, and Aeon to study Vietnamese consumers’ demand in order to bring more Japanese foods to the country.
Experts said a stable economic growth is the foundation for the boom in Vietnam’s food and beverage industry, which accounts for 15 percent of GDP and even higher in the future. Nielsen Vietnam estimated the country’s food and beverage market was valued at 30 billion USD in 2016.
Source: VNA Date 2017-06-02
Zhanjiang to hold tropical fruit cultivation forum
Zhanjiang will hold a summit forum for its tropical fruit industry, from June 9 to 11 as part of the 2017 Zhanjiang-ASEAN Agriculture Trade Fair, the city's largest event of its kind.
To be undertaken by the South Subtropical Crops Research Institute and Chinese Society for Tropical Crops' horticulture committee, the forum will focus on how to improve production efficiency through innovation-driven development.
Sisir Mitra, president of the tropical tree branch of the International Society for Horticultural Science will be among the prestigious attendees from home and abroad, reporting on the industrial development of tropical fruit trees.
The event will include a technology exhibition to display the latest research findings, patented technologies as well as advanced pesticide residue testing techniques in China.
Enterprise delegates and members of agricultural cooperatives will discuss how to boost international trade with experts. Government officials will also take part aiming to find out what support is needed for industrial expansion.
Zhanjiang is a major tropical and subtropical fruit producer in Guangdong province with its annual production volume of over 2,830 kilotons.
The Zhanjiang-ASEAN Agriculture Trade Fair is an international exhibition aimed at enhancing exchanges and trade ties between Guangdong and members of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), first held last year.
Source: China Daily Date: 2017-06-02
First Vietnam dairy fair opens in Hanoi
The Vietnam International Milk and Dairy Products Exhibition – Vietnam Dairy Fair 2017 opened on May 31 at the Friendship Cultural Palace at 91 Tran Hung Dao street, Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi.
The Vietnam Dairy Fair 2017, the first of its kind, is a major trade promotion event to connect domestic and foreign businesses, said Tran Quang Trung, President of Vietnam Dairy Association (VDA) at the opening ceremony.
He added that the event, which runs through June 3, aims to facilitate investment cooperation as well as enhance competitiveness of Vietnam’s dairy industry.
Dairy products, technology, feed and veterinary medicine are being showcased at the exhibition, co-held by VDA and Vietnam Advertisement and Fair Exhibition Joint Stock Company.
It sees the participation of well-known domestic and international dairy brands such as Vinamilk, Mead Johnson, Neslte, Moc Chau, Ba Vi and Abbot.
Three conferences on sterilization technology in milk processing, milk and dairy products for public health, and using high technology in dairy farming are held within the framework of the exhibition.
Various activities will be available for children to mark International Children’s Day and World Milk Day on June 1.
The first day of the exhibition attracted numerous visitors who are students majoring in food technology as well as individuals and organisations that are interested in dairy products and dairy business in Vietnam, according to the organising board.
Vietnam produced 1.9 billion litres of fresh milk and earned 90-100 million USD from milk exports in 2015, according to a master plan on developing Vietnam’s dairy processing industry to 2020, with a vision to 2025.
The respective figures will be 2.6 billion liters and 120-130 million USD for 2020 and 3.4 billion liters and 150-200 million USD for 2025.
Total milk consumption per capita in Vietnam was 23 litres in 2015 and 24 liters in 2016 and is expected to increase to 26 litres this year, 27 litres in 2020 and 34 litres by 2025.
Source: Vietnam Plus Date: 2017-06-01
Opportunities for Vietnam's fruit and vegetable export
The global demand for fruits and vegetables is forecast to soar in the near future, affording Vietnam a chance to expand to choosy markets such as Japan, the Republic of Korea and the US, as heard a seminar in Hanoi on May 24.
On the global market, fruits and vegetables account for over 59 percent of the total and are predicted to grow 2.88 percent for the 2016-2021 period, reported the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development (IPSARD).
Nguyen Duc Loc from the IPSARD said the demand for certified produce is growing. Over the past years, Vietnam has strived to improve the quality and hygiene of GAP certified products and issued regional codes for quality ones.
However, Vietnam still meets difficulties regarding fruits and vegetables preservation while connectivity between producers and businesses remains loose.
A representative from the Pan Group said the government targets restructuring agriculture towards a growth of 3.5- 4 percent from 2016-2020, with a focus on high-tech farming, but also admitted that the domestic farm produce quality management system and origin tracking capability remain weak.
Nigel Smith, General Director of the Fine Fruit Asia, said fruit is gaining the upper hand in regional exports and Vietnam is one of the important partners in ASEAN.
He suggested diversifying fruits and vegetables to ease reliance on China, and developing partnership between businesses, farmers and the government at the regional and sectoral level so that Vietnam’s fruits and vegetables could compete well in international market.
Source: VNA Date: 2017-05-25