Advertising Vietnam’s agricultural products in Japan

A delegation from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), led by Deputy Minister Ho Xuan Hung, had a working visit to Japan from March 1-4.

The visit aimed to advertise Vietnam’s agricultural products to this potential market.

During the visit, the delegation introduced the country’s goods at the 36th International Food and Beverage Exhibition (Foodex Japan 2011) in Chiba province, east of Tokyo. This is the biggest annual event in Japan with over 3,000 stalls from 60 countries and territories.

The delegation also coordinated with the Vietnamese embassy in Japan to hold a seminar at the international convention centre in Chiba province on strengthening agriculture-aquaculture trade cooperation between Vietnam and Japan.

The seminar attracted nearly 300 delegates from institutes, banks, businesses and distributors, creating a good opportunity for Vietnam’s policy makers and businesses to listen to and learn from Japan, which is always requesting high quality goods.

Addressing the event, Deputy Minister Ho Xuan Hung said in recent years, Vietnam’s agro-forestry-aquatic industries have developed strongly and use environmentally friendly methods that meet international standards for quality and food hygiene.

Vietnam’s agro-forestry-aquatic products are now present in over 160 countries and territories, in late 2010 Vietnam’s agro-forestry-aquatic exports reached more than US$19.5 billion, up 25 percent compared to 2009, Mr. Hung added.

He encouraged Japanese businesses to import Vietnamese agro-forestry-aquatic products and help Vietnamese enterprises advertise their products in this potential market.

In his speech, Nobuo Kato, a Japanese expert, said Vietnam has great potential for developing its agricultural sector, but it doesn’t focus on producing high-quality products. He noted that Japan would cooperate to help increase the quality of Vietnam’s agricultural sector.

In addition to such activities, the delegation paid working visits to officials from Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and businesses to discuss measures to intensify cooperation and push Vietnam’s exports in Japan. – VOV

Tags: Vietnam agriculture