(vasep.com.vn) On September 9th, 2013, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, Tran Tuan Anh, held a meeting with the Japanese delegation led by the President of Japan Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Research Council.
Vietnam and Japan have many opportunities in tightening their cooperation in developing the agriculture. Japan has a developed agriculture, which focuses on applying modern technologies in food production. However, Japanese agricultural products just satisfy about 45 percent of domestic consumption and demand. The country has still relied on imported products. This will be, therefore, an opportunity for Vietnam to boost exports of these products to Japan.
Vietnam and Japan signed Japan-Vietnam Economic Partnership Agreement (VJEPA), which has brought Vietnam many advantages. Vietnamese exporters enjoyed tax reduce or exemption and did not face antidumping disputes.
At the meeting, Tran Tuan Anh expressed the hope to receive Japan’s supports in establishing cooperation field, legal framework, policies on implementation and management of standards for agricultural products in Vietnam.
On Japanese side, the head of delegation affirmed that Vietnam has been one of the key export markets of Japan. He hoped that this new cooperation would contribute to developing bilateral ties, especially in agricultural, forestry and fishery sectors.
Reducing technical barriers
Since 1993, Japan has been the leading market of Vietnamese seafood products, representing 20 percent of yearly export value, according to Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP). Shrimp, squid, octopus and tuna from Vietnam are welcomed by Japanese consumers.
However, these recent years, Vietnamese seafood exporters have been meeting difficulties due to stricter regulations on animal quarantine by Japan.
In the middle of May 2012, Japan decided to test 30 percent of shrimp consignments originated from Vietnam with MRLs of 0.01 ppm. This barrier consecutively caused drops in shrimp exports to this destination since then.
“Vietnam and Japan need to take measures to build up policies through issuing new regulations and agreements in order to facilitate the expansion of trade exchanges between the two countries. The two sides are negotiating to sign a bilateral agreement on plant and animal quarantine. Vietnam requested Japan authorities to increase MRLs of Ethoxyquin in shrimp from 0.01 ppm to 1 ppm. Vietnam also loosened regulations on radiation testing of all products imported from Japan,” said Tran Tuan Anh.
Vietnam also hoped to receive further supports of Japan government in order to accelerate bilateral cooperation in the fishery sector in the coming time.