An economic expert said that with low competitiveness Vietnamese agro-products would not be able to compete with the influx of foreign similar items after Vietnam becomes a WTO member.

According to the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), Vietnam will cut import tariffs on American farm produce, firstly beef and pork, under an agreement with the US.

So Vietnamese beef and pork, with high production cost, would face tough competition, it remarked.

Pham Van Minh, director of Phu An Sinh Co. in Ho Chi Minh City said small poultry and cattle raising households might face harsh competition from quality American products, particularly chicken meat with very cheap prices.

In addition, another challenge for the domestic agricultural sector is the flooding of processed farm produce from other countries, particularly China.

Lack of awareness

Vo Mai, president of the Vietnam Fruit Association said most Vietnamese farmers currently pay no attention to improving local farm produce quality to compete with foreign products after Vietnam joins the WTO.

“They simply think that it is the task of the Government not theirs. So how can they compete when integrating in the world market?” Mai said.

He said improving quality was a must to increase competitiveness of Vietnamese products but the farming industry lacked a master plan for massive production as well as product quality improvement.

Effective support sought

VCCI vice chairman Doan Ngoc Bong stressed to better handle after WTO admission the Vietnamese government should support its farming industry with forms suitable to WTO regulations.

He said priorities should be given to developing rural infrastructure like roads, power supplies, and irrigation works, applying new technology, providing market information, and developing human resources.

Another optimistic signal is that many businesses have recently launched programs to support Vietnamese farmers.

For instance, the wholesale supermarket chain of Metro signed contracts to purchase products of 12 farm produce processing factories in HCMC.

In mid-July this year, the Plant Protection Department in collaboration with the An Giang Plant Protection Joint Stock Co. (AGPPS) opened training courses on producing organic vegetables meeting the Good Manufacturing Practices standard.

The course was opened to farmers in 22 southern provinces to help them improve knowledge of growing plants as well as advanced farming technology to produce safe vegetables according to international standards.

The Vietnam Farmers Association has recently organized a program to honor the country’s good farming products to offer Vietnamese farmers more opportunities to improve competitiveness.

The program include organizing the Trau Vang Dat Viet (Vietnam Gold Buffalo) Award to recognize the best agricultural products and services for farming production, aiming to build trademarks for Vietnamese agro-products.

Chairman Vu Ngoc Ky said his association was endeavoring to provide more supports to farmers to help them better integrate into the world market.

“In October we will hold the first-ever fair to honor Vietnamese agricultural products, which is hoped to offer local farmers more business opportunities,” Ky said.

Source: thanhniennews