Ben Tre seeks to boost export to China
A seminar to promote trade connection and export of farm produce between businesses of the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre and China was held by the provincial People’s Committee and the Chinese Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City on April 6.
Addressing the event, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Minh Canh briefed participants on the local strength of agriculture and maritime economy, saying that Ben Tre has paid special heed to developing and improving value chains for its key agricultural products.
Canh expressed his hope that the Chinese Consulate General will create favourable conditions for Ben Tre’s enterprises to connect with Chinese partners, thus promoting the consumption of products, especially coconut-based products.
He called on Chinese firms to enhance investment in Ben Tre, especially in developing deep processing industries for agro-forestry-aquaculture products, commercial services and eco-tourism.
He suggested the Chinese Consulate General support and facilitate the export of Ben Tre's key products to China via official channels, and provide information related to the Chinese market, industries, policies, and regulations on import and export of goods.
Local authorities will create the most possible favourable conditions to support Chinese investors and partners to seek cooperation and investment opportunities in Ben Tre, contributing to further strengthening the Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership in general and the relations between Ben Tre and Chinese partners in particular, he stressed.
Consul General of China in HCM City Wei Huaxiang said he hopes the two sides' businesses early connect to promote the export of coconut via official channels; and focus on building brands of agricultural products of Vietnam in general and Ben Tre in particular, in the Chinese market. He also urged them to expand cooperation in tourism, science and technology.
Businesses in Ben Tre mentioned the difficulties and challenges facing them and proposed support for them so that they can set up partnerships and sign more consumption contracts with Chinese firms.
Chairman of the Ben Tre Business Association Tran Van Duc said that local enterprises are making efforts to export their products to China via official channels.
According to the provincial People’s Committee, Ben Tre’s export turnover to China reached over US$360 million in 2021-2022, up 18.42% per year, and accounting for 10-15% of the province’s total export value.
The province has so far developed six value chains for its products, including coconut, fruit trees (green-skin pomelo, rambutan, longan), seedlings and ornamental flowers, pigs, cattle, and shrimp.
Coconut is one of the key crops of Ben Tre, with a total area of over 78,000 ha and an output of about 800 million coconuts per year. The locality has 17,293 ha of coconut meeting organic standards, accounting for 22.2% of the total area.
Ben Tre is home to 180 enterprises and nearly 2,400 production and processing facilities for coconut-based products, such as products made from coconut husks and shells; products made from coconut meat and water.
Each year, local businesses produce nearly 50,000 tonnes of dried coconut meat, hundreds of millions of littres of coconut water, 40 million litres of canned coconut water, 30,000 tonnes of coconut fiber, and 12,000 tonnes of activated carbon.