Ho Chi Minh City and Australia have high potential for cooperation in agriculture, especially high technology farming and cattle breeding, said Nguyen Thanh Phong, Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee.

At a meeting with Anne Ruston, Australian Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources in the city on August 23, Phong said that Ho Chi Minh City wants to develop hi-tech agriculture, adding that the city has built a high-tech agriculture park and a centre for biotechnology application.

However, he also mentioned various difficulties facing the city’s agricultural sector, asking for experience sharing and technology transfer from Australia. Phong also expressed interest in cooperation with Australia in cattle breeding.

Currently, the city has 92,000 dairy cows developed from a cow herd imported from Australia, he noted, adding that the city has also imported many cows from Australia for beef.

The Ho Chi Minh City leader also expressed hope that Australia will create favourable conditions for the import of farm produce from the city.

For her part, Anne Rustone said that Australia is keen on beefing up affiliation with Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh City – an economic, financial and trade centre of Vietnam.

She said that Australia is willing to share information and support the city in accessing modern technologies that are used in Australia, including those in cattle breeding.

Australia’s Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources will continue assisting Ho Chi Minh City and other Vietnamese localities in enhancing the productivity and quality of cattle herds, towards becoming self-reliant in beef supply, she said.

She also pointed to Vietnam’s strength in producing tropical fruits that Australian consumers enjoy.

She suggested Vietnam and Australia build and synchronise standards in quality and food safety to ensure the interests of consumers in both countries.

Australia has 176 projects in Ho Chi Minh City with total investment of more than 183 million USD. Two-way trade between the city and Australia in the first seven months of 2017 reached 600 million USD.

Source: VNA. Date: 2017-08-25