Vietnam is looking to boost its agricultural exports to China this year, following an agreement between the two countries to review regulations that would allow for increased trade in poultry, fish, and fruits. Pham Thi Huan, the founder of Ba Huan Corp. in Ho Chi Minh City, expressed optimism about the potential for greater access to China’s market, which boasts a consumer base of 1.4 billion people. Huan highlighted the opportunity this presents for her company and other Vietnamese livestock farmers, as they anticipate the lifting of the ban on exporting chicken meat and eggs to China.
In 2023, livestock products accounted for just 1% of Vietnam’s $12.2 billion worth of agricultural, forestry, and aquatic exports to China, as reported by Vietnam Plus. Notably, milk and milk products made up 93% of the total export value of Vietnam’s livestock products to China, according to the country’s minister of agriculture and rural development.
During a recent visit to China, Tran Thanh Nam, Vietnam’s deputy minister of agriculture and rural development, announced that China had expressed willingness to consider lifting the ban on poultry imports from Vietnam. Nam emphasized China’s substantial consumer demand for meat products, estimated at around $400 billion annually, underscoring the significant potential for Vietnam to export meat to China.
Nam’s trip to Beijing and Guangzhou in January focused on enhancing cooperation in the import and export of farm produce between the two nations. Discussions with Chinese officials, including Ma Youxiang, China’s vice minister of agriculture and rural affairs, and Zhao Zenglian, deputy chief of the General Administration of Customs, centered on Vietnam’s request for China to open its market to Vietnamese products.
According to Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, China’s General Administration of Customs has agreed to expedite the documentation required to finalize three protocols. These protocols pertain to the export of sustainably caught seafood, farmed crocodiles, and monkeys raised for scientific research from Vietnam to China.
