Panorama of the Pavilion of the Việt Nam Trade Office in Australia and the Hà Nội City Promotion Delegation. — VNA/VNS Photos Văn Linh

SYDNEY — The Coordination Office of the New Rural Development Programme in Hà Nội collaborated with the Việt Nam Trade Office in Australia to establish a trade promotion delegation for the Foodservice Australia Fair 2024 in Sydney. The delegation participated in the fair from May 19 to 21.

According to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) correspondent in Sydney, these activities are being implemented to strengthen the cooperation between Việt Nam and Australia after the two countries upgraded their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. They also aim to execute the "Project to facilitate direct participation of Vietnamese enterprises in foreign distribution networks until 2030", as well as the 2024 plan for implementing the "Project to engage Vietnamese people abroad in promoting and consuming products, and developing distribution channels for Vietnamese goods abroad during the period 2020-2024".

Foodservice Australia Fair is the leading international fair for the food industry in Australia, held annually for the past 40 years.

Ribbon cutting ceremony to open booths promoting Vietnamese products.

Nguyễn Văn Chí, Director of the Hà Nội Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Permanent Deputy Chief of the Coordination Office for New Rural Development Programme in Hà Nội said: The delegation's purpose in attending the Foodservice Australia Fair 2024 was to support Hà Nội city businesses in showcasing and introducing their goods and services. Additionally, the delegation aimed to promote trade and enhance the visibility of Hà Nội and Vietnamese brands and products in Australia. This initiative also aimed to create opportunities for commodity export associations and facilitate the entry of agricultural products, food, and Hanoi's OCOP (One Commune One Product Programme) products into distribution channels in the Australian market."

Booth of Hà Nội City trade promotion delegation at Foodservice Australia Fair 2024.

Attending and cutting the ribbon to open the "Hà Nội – Việt Nam" pavilion at Foodservice Australia Fair 2024 were Nguyễn Phú Hòa - Head of the Việt Nam Trade Office in Australia; Nguyễn Văn Chí - Director of the Hà Nội Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Permanent Deputy Chief of the Coordination Office for New Rural Development Programme in Hà Nội; representatives of Hà Nội and international businesses.

With an area of 90sq.m, the "Hà Nội – Việt Nam" pavilion brings together many businesses producing strong products with export potential and competitiveness in the Australian market such as: Hanuti JSC company; Vinh Ha Food Company; Visimex Corp. JSC...

Products on display include vermicelli, vermicelli, dry pho (noodle), cashew nuts, coffee, pepper, dried nuts, spice products, chili sauce, soy sauce, nutritional powder, cordyceps, black garlic, vegetable powder, tubers, fruits, and herbal teas among others.

The booth is specially designed with the theme "Top food processors from Hà Nội – Việt Nam", bearing the cultural imprint of Thăng Long – Đông Đô – Hà Nội – Việt Nam.

The promotion team of Hà Nội took photos with guests.

The "Hà Nội - Việt Nam" pavilion stood out with its eye-catching layout, impressive product displays, and opportunities for visitors to sample the offerings. It successfully expressed the national identity and drew the attention of thousands of visitors on its opening day. Notably, the international exhibition organising committee and the Secretary General of the Ministry of Enterprise Development and Cooperatives of Malaysia, Dato Suriani binti Dato Ahmad, also paid a visit to the Vietnamese exhibition area.

The delegation of the Malaysian Ministry of Trade visited and interacted with the Vietnamese products booth.

Talking to the VNA reporter based in Sydney, Nguyễn Phú Hòa - Head of the Việt Nam Trade Office in Australia said: Along with the "Hà Nội – Việt Nam" pavilion, the Trade Office also has a pavilion with air space. Outstanding and impressive open space at the fair aims to support the promotion of Vietnamese agricultural and aquatic products gaining a foothold in Australia. This year, the Trade Office focuses on organic products, green products, especially spices and clean products, which are very popular in this market.

Nguyễn Phú Hòa added that in the coming time, the Trade Office will focus on promoting the consumption of lychees, longans, and green mangoes and prepare a plan to welcome fresh Vietnamese grapefruit to Australia. Also this year, Việt Nam's key industrial products will continue to be promoted in this Oceania country.

According to statistics, through practical trade promotion measures, Vietnamese agricultural products have grown impressively in Australia in recent times. In April alone, it increased nearly 80 per cent compared to the same period last year. Many products reported outstanding growth such as coffee (up nearly 300 per cent), cashew nuts (up 42 per cent), and rice (up 18 per cent).

Signing of a memorandum of understanding between Hà Nội trade promotion delegation and Australian businesses.

As a visitor to the Fair, Khalida Tkriti was very impressed with Việt Nam's booths, from the quality of organic products to the diversity and richness of products. Tkriti said that these are Việt Nam's strong products. She plans to continue to learn and use the products to introduce to friends and relatives if appropriate.

In addition to participating in the Fair, Hà Nội businesses also attend sideline forums, conferences and seminars with many topics, thereby updating knowledge about international branding, how to promote products and current food and beverage trends in Australia and around the world. In addition, businesses and units in Hà Nội also have the opportunity to promote their products on the media system of the Organising Committee of Foodservice Australia 2024 and other media to introduce brands and products and services for interested tourists.

Within the framework of the programme, on May 18, the Coordination Office of the Hà Nội New Rural Development Programme collaborated with the Việt Nam Trade Office in Australia to organize a trade promotion conference and encourage enterprise investment between Hà Nội and Australia.

During the conference, Nguyễn Phú Hòa, representative of the Việt Nam Trade Office in Australia, emphasized the importance of brand building for the overall success of Vietnamese trade. He urged businesses to collectively promote a green Việt Nam and products of green and clean origin. This would instill confidence in international customers and encourage them to choose Vietnamese products.

Nguyễn Đăng Thắng, Consul General of Việt Nam in Sydney said Việt Nam - Australia trade relations still have a lot of potential.

He expressed hope that through practical events like this conference, Vietnamese and Australian businesses will find many opportunities to cooperate. He also recommended that Vietnamese businesses learn more about the Australian market and regulations, ensuring quality standards requirements because this is a very demanding market. If they can bring products to Australia, they can confidently bring products to the world.

Talking to Vietnam News Agency reporters in Sydney on the sidelines of the event, Nguyễn Văn Chí, Director of the Agriculture and Rural Development Department, Deputy Chief of the Standing Office of the Office for Coordinating the New Rural Construction Programme in Hà Nội said "the products being promoted this time have successfully overcome numerous technical obstacles faced by challenging countries in Europe and other regions.

"As a result, he expressed his hope that businesses in Hà Nội would be able to secure Australian distributors, thus making their products readily available in the market of this Oceania country."

Nguyễn Phú Hòa, Head of the Việt Nam Trade Office in Australia gave an interview to a Vietnam News Agency correspondent in Sydney.

Commenting on the conference, Benjamin Cai, Strathfield City Councilor, said: This is a useful opportunity for businesses of the two countries to exchange and seek cooperation potential in many fields. Currently, the Vietnamese community in Australia is quite large, so this is a potential market for Vietnamese businesses. The two sides can strengthen cooperation to reap fruits and achievements together.

As the owner of a large Orange supermarket chain in Australia, Yangu shows great interest in Vietnamese products. He assessed that Vietnamese products are quite good quality and convenient, especially vermicelli, vermicelli, and dry pho products.

He said that Vietnamese products have a lot of potential to reach the Australian market because more and more students and Vietnamese people come to study and live in this Oceanian country. Besides, more and more Australians are interested in and love food products from Asia, especially from Việt Nam.

At the end of the conference, representatives of a number of Vietnamese and Australian businesses signed Memorandums of Cooperation. — VNS