Raising the threshold for agricultural exports from Vietnam

DNHN - Overcoming the tight import market regulations, firms have delivered Vietnamese brands of coffee, rice, red beans, and so on to the globe, adding numerous additional values to domestic production.

Meet More is a game changer for Vietnamese farmers' coffee

More Meets in Vietnam Agricultural coffee is the result of a clever combination of coffee and agricultural products that achieves a ratio suited for the taste of European clients as well as customers from other nations across the world. The company has sold a lot of things to Korea and Japan because of its one-of-a-kind coffee. The EU is a new market, yet the market effect has far exceeded exporters' expectations.

Since the beginning of 2022, Meet More agricultural coffee has been available in several wholesale stores in Germany and the Czech Republic. Next October, 5 types of coffee will be available in France: coconut, taro, green beans, mint, and noni fruit. Mr Nguyen Ngoc Luan, CEO of Meet More, deserves special credit for bringing Meet More coffee to Europe and capitalizing on the opportunity provided by the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

According to CEO Nguyen Ngoc Luan, there were several problems in negotiating to send commodities to the EU because this is a challenging market with many high criteria for imported agricultural products. However, with the experience of exporting coffee to various countries such as Russia, Korea, India, and Australia..., and confidence in the quality and uniqueness of the products we give, CEO Meet More is committed to solely exporting Vietnamese-branded goods in discussions with European partners.

After 6 months of rigorous talks with EU partners, companies have been permitted to begin exporting containers in early 2022. Shipments to the EU are becoming more frequent, and the volume is rising. The price of agricultural coffee is 10 to 15% greater than the price of regular coffee.

The coffee export sector reached over 4 billion USD in its peak year, contributing considerably to the agriculture industry's tens of billions of dollars, however, the majority of it was shipped by low-value firms.

Meet More also achieved a new milestone in the United States when it successfully exported a shipment to the country more than a month ago. The consignment was cleared at the port of Oakland (California), marking the first step in the Vietnamese coffee brand's entry into a new market. Meet More wants to win this market shortly with a vast distribution system over the West Coast of the United States, particularly in the states of California and Washington. Meet More is now collaborating with a distribution partner to construct a team focused on product development not only on the West Coast but also on the East Coast and across the country.

When the export market becomes more concentrated and orders grow, Meet More considers extending investment to enhance capacity. Currently, the factory's processing capacity is around 150,000 tons per year, which is insufficient to fulfil market demand. Meet More intends to relocate the operation to a bigger building by 2023, increasing capacity to one million tons per year.

Vietnam has signed many FTAs with key markets, which has aided firms in expanding their market reach and seeking new clients. The EU tariff decrease represents a major opportunity for Vietnam's coffee sector. With the commitment to eliminate tariffs under EVFTA, Vietnam's coffee exported to the EU will have 93% tax lines reduced to 0% as soon as the Agreement enters into force, particularly for beans, which were previously subject to 15% tax and will now be reduced to 0%, bringing many benefits to exporters.

Mia Group invests in growing red bean production for sale to Japan

If CEO Meet More successfully brings instant coffee with agricultural product flavours such as mango, taro, noni fruit, mint, and so on, it can be considered a breakthrough of Vietnamese coffee to many fastidious and high standard markets, then CEO Mia Group Nguyen Ngoc Huyen also paved the way in a very personal way.

Mia Group (Vietnam) inked a long-term cooperation deal during the Vietnam - Japan Investment Promotion Conference held in Tokyo at the end of last year, as part of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's official visit to Japan. Limited partnership with Endo Seian Company (Japan) to export red beans and red bean-derived goods to Japan.

According to the agreement, the two parties will collaborate to develop red bean growing areas following Japanese organic farming processes and to construct processing facilities in Vietnam that meet strict quality standards for export to Japan, to export 20,000 tons of red beans and products made from red beans over the next five years. Depending on the capacity of the Vietnamese side, the export output can be enhanced.

Mia Group began growing organic red beans in Son La, Ha Giang, and Nghe An at the end of March 2022, to fulfil the deal reached at the end of 2021. The first cargo of 100 tons of red beans will be delivered by Mia Group in December of this year, clearing the way for the following shipment when red beans cultivated in the northern mountainous regions are harvested more often.

Mia Group is confident in its goal to develop the red bean-producing area in several provinces and cities. Implement main and off-season planting, making the most of agricultural time and technology to meet client demands on time. Mia Group has now grown the planting area to 1,000 hectares, with plans to develop further in 2023 and 2024, with a production size of up to 20,000 tons/year.

Japan's need for red beans is around 40 million tons per year; however, Japan can only supply half of the output; the remainder must be imported from China, Thailand, and Canada. Endo Seian Group is one of Japan's three main red bean suppliers.

Mia Group now has lots of space to expand its exports thanks to the inked deal with Endo Seian. Ms Huyen revealed: "Many years of foreign commerce have solidified our place on the global stage. Enterprises are no longer alone, but get the fire and combined efforts of numerous partners working toward the same goal. The premise is that as Vietnam's agriculture business grows, the value chain linkages benefit more."

Because of the effort to produce and export red beans to Japan, Vietnamese farmers will gradually shift their focus to organic farming, allowing Vietnamese people to consume clean and high-quality agricultural goods and fruits.

Endo Seian Group's spokesperson acknowledged that the collaboration with Mia Group involves more than only import and export, but that Endo Seian Group would cooperate with Mia Group to guarantee the cultivation and processing process fulfils Japan's stringent quality criteria. This collaboration model will then be duplicated, benefiting both parties.

Mia Group began as a company specializing in the distribution of high-end fruits in Vietnam and has never stopped dreaming of raising the quality and value of Vietnam's agricultural products not only in the Vietnamese market but also in the global market. Mia Group is dedicated to effectively developing a high-quality red bean growing process from seed to completed product for sale to Japan.

Mia Group aspires to be among the top firms in Vietnam with a big enough raw material area, satisfying the criteria of exporting vegetables, tubers, fruits, and nuts to high-quality markets worldwide.

In the first eight months of 2022, total agricultural exports reached 36.3 billion USD, a 13.1% increase over the same period last year. Impressively, the income from the export of some of Vietnam's primary agricultural goods, such as rice, vegetables, coffee, and cashew, reached more than US$ 9.3 billion, with coffee seeing an almost 40% increase over the same period the previous year. Rice grew by 8.5% throughout this period. .. When the domestic production industry presents numerous enterprises and entrepreneurs who are continually seeking methods to raise the standard for Vietnamese agricultural goods, the export value of the agricultural sector will steadily expand and improve in quality.

PV (t/h)