A world leading spice exporter with a revenue of some 1.5 billion USD every year, Vietnam should bolster intensive processing and trade promotion to increase added values, experts have said.

Much needs to be done to raise the value of Vietnamese coffee in the international market, experts said at a workshop in Ho Chi Minh City on March 4.

The agriculture ministry has devised measures to turn Vietnam into one of the world’s most 15 developed countries in terms of agriculture by 2030, and among the top 10 farm produce processing hubs.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has asked enterprises and localities to look toward solutions to intensive processing of agricultural products.

Vietnam will process more than 25 percent of its total coffee beans by 2020 to increase the value and build brands for Vietnamese coffee products, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Processing and Market Development Authority (AgroTrade).

Intensive processing has served as an effective tool for Vietnamese shrimp exporters to improve their competitive capacity in the context of a steep increase in the global supply which brought down the price and demand for shrimp in major markets.

Vietnam’s tea exports in the first eight months of 2018 dropped 10.1 percent year on year in volume to 81,000 tonnes, and 7.4 percent in value to 133 million USD, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said that the southern province of Tay Ninh boast huge potential to become a national hub for high-quality agricultural production.

Vietnam needs to raise awareness of mineral resources and take measures to boost intensive processing in order to reduce losses and protect the environment, suggested experts at a seminar in Hanoi.