Vietnam has great opportunities to export agricultural products to Russia

The West's sanctions against Russia, along with Russia's retaliatory sanctions against US and European agricultural and food products, are a great opportunity for Vietnam to quickly increase its market share in the $42 billion agricultural and food import market.

Russia can be considered as the largest food consumer market in Europe with about 50% of total imported food being products purchased from the South and irreplaceable. Of which, Russia imported about 2.5 billion USD of vegetables, tubers, fruits, 2.5 billion USD of fish and fish products, a large amount of meat and poultry. For these products, Europe has advantages in terms of geographical distance, reputation as well as product quality. However, this advantage is no longer there after Russia banned imports for 1 year.

Commercial Counselor of the Vietnamese Embassy in Russia Pham Quang Niem affirmed that "this is a very good opportunity for Vietnamese export enterprises because Vietnam has strengths in all of these products - vegetables, fruits, agricultural products, meat products can all be exported to Russia". Mr. Niem recommended that "enterprises should not passively wait for Russia to invite them but proactively enter the Russian market".

Mr. Pham Quang Niem, Commercial Counselor of the Embassy of Vietnam in Russia.

The first item that Mr. Niem noted that has many prospects for strong export growth to Russia is seafood. Recently, more Vietnamese seafood enterprises have been allowed to export to the Russian market. According to Mr. Niem, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development should quickly discuss with Russia "an intergovernmental agreement on food safety and disease for products of animal origin imported and exported between Vietnam and Russia". This is an important legal framework for Vietnam to export products of animal origin to Russia. As well as increase the number of seafood exporting enterprises to Russia. This is a very good opportunity for Vietnamese enterprises to enter the Russian market firmly, confidently and increase market share... if we are slow, we will lose the opportunity".

Mr. Niem said that Russia is interested in Vietnamese goods. In recent days, the Moscow Department of Internal Trade has invited the Vietnam Trade Office to work. On that basis, Vietnam can connect with Moscow and other provinces to create a wide playground, helping Vietnamese businesses develop in the Russian market.

Visiting "Volga Viet" - a successful agricultural enterprise in the city of Volgagrad (Southern Russia) that supplies tons of vegetables and fruits to local supermarkets every day, Mr. Tran Duc Thiet - the farm manager, said that the company is currently cultivating 80 hectares and annually rotates 200 hectares of land to let it rest. This year's consumption is much higher than last year, the supply is not enough to meet the demand from local supermarkets. Next year, the company plans to increase the cultivated area, doubling the crops that are its strengths.

In a direct interview at the Volga Viet company office, Director Duong Hai An said the first thing to note for businesses wanting to export vegetables and fruits to Russia is "guaranteed quality, because if not guaranteed, the business can still be eliminated". He said that bringing Vietnamese vegetables and fruits to Russia "takes a long way, but if investing in preservation and good contracts, there is still the possibility of exporting".

Mr. An commented, "The crisis between Russia and the West cannot be resolved overnight, so Vietnamese businesses need to seize the opportunity in the context of good development of Vietnam-Russia relations." According to Mr. An, "this winter, Russia may face difficulties in supply because of planned production of vegetables and fruits." Mr. An suggested that Vietnamese businesses who want to invest in agricultural production in Russia should choose the large area of ​​southern Russia because this is a warm area, suitable for agricultural production.

In the context of geopolitical tensions between Russia and the West, Moscow is encouraging agricultural development and agricultural product consumption. Opportunities still exist for Vietnamese businesses that know how to engage in agricultural product consumption and production in the Russian market.

According to Tintuc