Exporters get support to enter EU market

Vietnam’s traditional commodities such as rice, coffee, and pepper are already established in markets all over the world. But its food processing industry is still struggling to gain a foothold, with challenges particularly acute in the EU.

The Hanoi Asia-Europe Tea Company produces and exports black tea to the EU market. Its Business Department’s Deputy Head Phan Manh Linh reports the company has focused on Eastern European countries including Poland and Ukraine. Annual export turnover is currently around US$2.5 million.

The company wants to expand into Western Europe’s Germany and the UK but pesticide residues in Vietnamese tea are too high to meet these nations’ strict import requirements. Less lucrative markets such as those of the Middle East only examine quality and moisture.

Koos Van Eyk, an expert from the Centre for the Promotion of Imports from Developing Countries (CBI), notes the EU, as the world’s largest food and beverage market, is rich in potential for Vietnamese exporters. Yet exporters must recognise the importance of tailoring their products to the EU’s rigid import regulations.

Van Eyk revealed the CBI will work with the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Trade Promotion Agency (TPA) to promote Vietnamese food processing in the EU market.

Van Eyk says this will offer unprecedented opportunities to exporters of products like coffee, cacao, tea, cashew nuts, peanuts, spices, and honey.

The programme includes expert support on production, quality improvement, marketing, and partnership negotiation. It aims to support at least 20 local exporters with EU market ambitions.

TPA Deputy Head Do Kim Lang says the EU’s regulations, while strict, are open and transparent.  The CBI will consult with eligible businesses and run training courses to help local businesses achieve EU standards of practice.

With State support and international guidance, the efforts of local exports to penetrate the increasingly important EU market are bound to deliver greater success.