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Summary

28 COVER STORY
18 COVER STORY
Action needed soon to adapt

Vietnamese agricultural products Solutions required to increase the

to EU deforestation law export value of cinnamon, anise,

and medicinal plant products
T hree key products that Vietnam exports to the EU -
coffee, wood, and rubber - fall within the scope of the
European Union Regulation on Deforestation-free
Products (EUDR), which was issued on June 23. The EU
is an important market for Vietnamese coffee, wood, and
rubber products, with annual export value hitting over $2.5 A ccording to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, on the
billion. Before the EUDR officially comes into effect, world map of medicinal herbs, Vietnam is considered
Vietnam must proactively establish a direct connection to have diverse sources and its proportion of rare natural
with the bloc to provide information and discuss medicinal herbs remains high. The country boasts over 5,100
classification criteria to reach consensus on a national species of medicinal plants, with its cinnamon and anise being
classification criteria. The Ministry of Agriculture and widely consumed in South Asia, East Asia, the Middle East,
Rural Development needs to coordinate closely with other the US, and the EU. Given its sources, Vietnam holds potential
relevant ministries and agencies, especially the Ministry of and advantages in developing medicinal herbs into an
Natural Resources and Environment, to unify the database economic sub-sector. However, such goods do not post high
on forestry resources and agricultural / forestry land. export turnover. To increase market share and raise turnover,
it is necessary to plan and create a sufficiently large raw
material area to serve processing and exports and also to
26 COVER STORY promote branding efforts.
Boost in export capacity

required for agricultural 12 ECONOMY - POLICY

products
EXPORTS REGAIN GROWTH

A gricultural products are one of Vietnam’s key export ‘RHYTHM’ BUT CHALLENGES LINGER
items, contributing greatly to the country’s overall
export turnover. However, proactive integration within
the agriculture sector is not high. Exploiting opportunities
from international economic integration and implementing
commitments within free trade agreements (FTAs) to develop
agricultural export markets have not been as effective as
expected. To strengthen the export capacity of Vietnam’s
agricultural industry, it is necessary to adopt synchronous
solutions to support the entire industry in chain development,
in particular helping agricultural businesses apply science and
technology, innovation, and digitalization in production and
processing to ensure quality.
T he total import and export turnover of goods in
October has been estimated at $61.62 billion, up 4.1
per cent over September and 5.6 per cent against
October 2022, according to the General Statistics Office of
Vietnam (GSO). After a sudden decline in September,
exports regained growth levels in October. But to reach the
annual target of $393-394 billion set at the beginning of
the year, exports over the next two months need to bring
in more than $100 billion, which is a huge challenge.
Organizations and businesses see that difficulties remain,
the economic downturn has not ended, geopolitical crises
are spreading, consumer behavior is changing, and price
competition from exporting countries continues, all of
which are unfavorable for exporters.

4 KINH TẾ VIỆT NAM | Số 45 | Ngày 6/11/2023 www.vneconomy.vn