Trần Thanh Hải, Deputy Director of MoIT’s Import and Export Department

To boost the export of rice as per the direction of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has many solutions to help businesses find export markets.

Trần Thanh Hải, Deputy Director of MoIT’s Import and Export Department, speaks to bnews.vn about the issue.

What has the department done to support rice businesses find export markets?

The Prime Minister asked the ministry to come up with solutions on developing export markets for local rice products with the goal of maintaining and strengthening traditional markets as well as expanding into new ones.

The ministry has coordinated with relevant ministries, sectors, the Việt Nam Food Association and rice exporters to implement solutions, such as reviewing the demand and import policies of foreign markets. The ministry then proposed agreements with foreign partners to facilitate Việt Nam's rice exports.

While negotiating bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements and other kinds of agreements, the ministry has actively discussed with foreign partners on expanding rice export markets, including tax reductions and removal of trade and technical barriers that are not suitable for Vietnamese rice products.

The ministry has also updated information for local enterprises and associations about regulations on food hygiene and safety, quality control and traceability.

The ministry has implemented many programmes on trade promotion and brand development, including the organisation of trade fairs in mainland China, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong, as well as France, the Netherlands, Ghana, Ivory Coast and the US.

To assist businesses in studying customer demand and promoting exports, the ministry has cooperated with localities with high outputs of rice, such as An Giang, Long An, and Kiên Giang provinces, Cần Thơ City, and HCM City.

So far, Việt Nam's rice products have been exported to 150 countries and territories, including the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, mainland China, Cuba, Hong Kong, Singapore, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Ghana and Mozambique.

What will the department and local businesses do to build the Vietnamese rice business?

The Ministry of Industry and Trade plans to co-ordinate with relevant ministries and agencies to organise the Vietnam International Rice Conference every two years. The event is expected to introduce Vietnamese rice products to the global market.

Currently, under the direction of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and the Việt Nam Food Association, local rice export enterprises have used the national brand of “Vietnam Rice” together with the businesses’ own rice brands.

At the same time, MARD collaborated with relevant ministries and agencies to register the national brand of “Vietnam Rice” in some export markets of Vietnamese rice such as the Philippines, China and Europe.

Businesses, ministries and sectors will support enterprises in building and registering brand protection for local rice products at home and abroad based on Decision 706/QĐ-TTg and Decree 107/2018/NĐ-CP.

What is the department doing to seek new export markets?

The Government and the Ministry of Industry and Trade have a policy to encourage enterprises diversifying export and import markets, avoiding dependence on a certain market, including agricultural products.

To find export markets for agricultural products, the ministry has implemented many measures to improve production capacity and quality of goods, implement trade promotion and build legal framework for exports through negotiation of bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements. — VNS