Farmers in Gia Lai Province pick only ripe coffee fruit to ensure high quality beans for export. — VNA/VNS Photo

GIA LAI — The Central Highlands province of Gia Lai will focus on helping businesses effectively utilise Việt Nam’s free trade agreements (FTAs) with other markets, including the UKVFTA, to strengthen its agricultural exports.

Thanks to advantages from the FTAs, which offer tariff elimination on agricultural exports and other product groups, the province has achieved its export turnover target of US$750 million two months earlier than planned.

The province's agricultural products account for more than 83 per cent of total export turnover, while forestry products and other products account for 15 per cent.

There are more than 255,600 hectares of crops of all kinds produced according to VietGAP, GlobalGAP, 4C, Organic, Rainforest Alliance and FLO standards.

The province's agricultural products have been exported to nearly 50 countries and territories, including markets with strict requirements.

Over the years, trade deals like the United Kingdom – Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) and Việt Nam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), have been strengthening the province’s exports, especially when the province was still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition, provincial agencies and import-export enterprises have also quickly adjusted export strategies to comply with new regulations of demanding markets.

Meanwhile, Gia Lai Province's Department of Industry and Trade has stepped up the work of updating market information, developing plans to promote exports, and strengthening trade promotion activities to help businesses proactively expand markets.

Gia Lai authorities have been organising events and publishing online documents to inform local businesses of the content on the UKVFTA and how to utilise it, such as a conference last year in Pleiku to raise awareness of regulations and commitments related to Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) under the UKVFTA.

Other conferences and training sessions have been organised to educate businesses on topics surrounding Việt Nam’s new generation FTAs, including tariffs, rules of origins, intellectual properties and labourers.

Gia Lai will continue to make use of Việt Nam’s FTAs such as the UKVFTA and the EVFTA to promote the expansion of potential products such as roasted coffee, instant coffee, canned fruit and fruit juice.

It will also continue to develop key export products such as coffee, pepper, cashew nuts and rubber latex.

Gia Lai Province currently has more than 100,000 hectares of coffee, with an output of approximately 315,000 tonnes per year, more than 7,700 hectares of pepper, with an output of 23,300 tonnes per year, 84,000 hectares of rubber with a dry latex output of 79,000 tonnes per year and over 30,000 hectares of various fruits and many other agricultural products.

These are rich sources of raw materials for processing and exporting the agricultural products of the province. — VNS