Vietnamese spices are sold in an Asian grocery store in Brussels. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — More and more people in Belgium are learning about Vietnamese agricultural products and welcoming them.

Phạm Bích Thủy, the owner of “Le Panier Asiatique” – an Asian grocery store in Brussels, said that besides Vietnamese customers, many foreigners visit her store.

She always tries to introduce Vietnamese products to the customers, offering them to take home to try first and pay later.

Many of the customers revisit her store and choose Vietnamese products because of their competitive prices and quality compared with those from other countries, Thủy said.

For the last few years, many agricultural and food products of Việt Nam are favoured by customers in Belgium such as Duy Anh rice papers, Ba cây tre (Three Bamboo) fresh vermicelli, dried phở, Vifon instant noodles, Phú Quốc fish sauce, and Cocoxim fresh coconut milk of Bến Tre Import-Export Joint Stock Company (Betrimex).

Trần Ngọc Quân, Việt Nam’s Trade Counselor in Belgium and the EU, said that the challenges for Vietnamese goods are not small. Firstly, Vietnamese goods access the Belgian market through many local importers, making Vietnamese businesses highly reliant on the importers and unable to build brands.

Secondly, while some Vietnamese enterprises were very proactive and made changes in production to serve export, others still produced first and then looked for markets.

Quân said that in that way, it’s very difficult for them to access markets like the EU which has a lot of regulations for imports.

In addition, many spices such as basil, laksa leaves, perilla, and coriander are of Vietnamese origin but purchased and exported to Europe by Thai enterprises.

Therefore, promoting the export of agricultural products, fruits, and vegetables to the Belgian market in particular and the European market in general requires more efforts from Vietnamese enterprises to improve production capacity, ensure product quality, and look for business partners. — VNS