Moscow (VNA) – Vietnamese Ambassador toRussia Dang Minh Khoi and Russian Deputy Minister of Agriculture Sergey Levindiscussed measures to beef up agricultural cooperation between the twocountries during a meeting in Moscow on April 7.

They shared the view that trade of farmproduce between the two countries had yet to meet their expectations as well ascapacity of their businesses.

According to Ambassador Khoi, as of late 2021,Russia had allowed 50 Vietnamese firms to ship aquatic products to Russia.Meanwhile, 55 Russian enterprises were permitted to export meat and 77 othersaquatic products to the Southeast Asian nation.

This is an important premise for the two countriesto consolidate and expand their collaboration in agricultural trade andproduction, he stressed.

For his part, Levin held that Vietnam and Russiahold substantial potential to boost their partnership in agricultural trade,noting that many of their products could be exported to the respective markets.

Reviewing a range of events and measures taken lastyear to boost the collaboration, the official emphasised that such measureshave significantly contributed to bilateral agricultural trade.

Vietnam’s agricultural exports to Russia reached612.7 million USD last year, up 25 percent from 2020. Meanwhile, Russia shipped523.1 million USD worth of farm produce to Vietnam, a year-on-yearrise of 21 percent.

Vietnam is Russia’s leading supplier of coffee,aquatic products, cashew nuts, pepper and tea, among others.

Russia is a major meat supplier for Vietnam, with revenueof 137 million USD in 2021, accounting for 43 percent of Russia’s total porkexport value. Russia’s fertilizer exports to Vietnam also surged 162 percentlast year to reach 153.3 million USD./.