Combined measures applied to increase agricultural export competitiveness

Exports of agricultural, forestry and fishery products in the first quarter of 2015 reached US$6.13 billion, down 13% compared with the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Illustration photo (Photo: Thai Thien)

The downwards trend occurred in most of the major export commodities, with coffee and fisheries export figures declining the most. The volume of coffee exports was estimated at 350,000 tons worth US$734 million, down 41.4% in volume and 37.3% in value. For the fisheries sector, exports recorded the biggest drop for the last five years. Compared to the same period in 2014, fisheries exports declined by 23%, of which, shrimp exports saw the biggest drop of nearly 30%, tra fish approximately 18%, and tuna over 13%.

According to experts, agricultural markets are becoming saturated. Meanwhile, prices of many agricultural commodities exported by Vietnam are still higher than other nations. For example, for fishery products, ‘rivals’ to Vietnam such as India and Thailand are in their peak season with increased output and lower selling prices in comparison with the same Vietnamese products. Large shrimp prices in India fell by US$2 a kg, while smaller ones decreased by US$0.5-1 per kg. In addition, some items including Vietnamese shrimp have been imposed anti-dumping taxes and are under pressure from the US farm bill.

In order to reduce inventory and maintain the markets, many companies have sought to reduce prices of agricultural exports. However, this solution without strict supervision and instruction from authorities would lead to unhealthy competition among exporters and cause economic losses for producers.

Meanwhile, according to forecasts, prices of agricultural export commodities may continue to drop. Therefore, besides trade promotion and simplification of administrative procedures for exporters, support policies to farmers and farming and processing enterprises should be made available to encourage them to improve product quality and reduce production costs.

Currently, according to exporters, freight rates in Vietnam are still higher compared to other countries in the region. This is one of the main reasons contributing to the product price increase. For that reason, relevant authorities should consider reasonable adjustments to freight rates to support the agricultural sector and businesses to overcome difficulties.

Agricultural firms should also co-operate closely in the chain of production, processing and consumption to develop competitive agricultural products on the international market.

(Source: nhandan.org.vn)