Hanoi (VNA) –A delegation of 30 Vietnamese enterprises, mostly from Ho Chi Minh City andsouthern provinces, attended the recent Thaifex, the leading food, beverage andfood technology in Thailand, to introduce outstanding farm produce of Vietnamin the market at a hope to export more products to the country.

Aware that Thailanditself is a major farm produce exporter, the Vietnamese firms chose highquality products with marked differences in quality and taste from Thaiproducts to showcase at the event, including organic products.

Dang Thi Diem Thuyfrom Vinamit said that the firm brought organic rice, mango and  banana to the fair, which left strongimpression on local consumers.

Meanwhile, Co Maycompany from the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap introduced its fried basa(pangasius bocourti) fish skin and mushroom deep fried crackers, and Betrimexcompany of Ben Tre showcased coconut products such as coconut milk and juice.

According to the Asian-AfricanMarket Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, strong growth wasseen in the Vietnam-Thailand trade revenue over the past years.

Last year, Vietnammostly exported to Thailand telephone and accessories, computers, electronicproducts, crude oil, transport vehicles and spare parts. Meanwhile, Thailandexported many agricultural products to Vietnam, especially fruit. In the firstfour months of this year, Vietnam imported 203 million USD worth of Thaifruits, up over 28 percent year on year.

The department attributedthe rise to Vietnam’s reduction of tax in line with the roadmap under the ASEANagreement on trade in goods (ATIGA).

Thai products arecompetitive thanks to their good quality and reasonable prices. Thai businesseshave also been active in organising trade promotion activities and investedstrongly in distribution channels in Vietnam.

The department heldthat selling agricultural products to the Thai market is a tough task forVietnamese firms.

Vu Kim Hanh, Presidentof the High-Quality Vietnamese Products Association, which brought theVietnamese firms to Thaifex, said that this is the first time Vietnameseproducts are introduced abroad using the logos of “high-quality Vietnamese productsselected for domestic products” and “high-quality Vietnamese products meetingglobal integration standards”.

Due to the highrequirements, only 60 enterprises in food industry are eligible for the titleof “high-quality Vietnamese products meeting global integration standards”.

Hanh held thatVietnamese agricultural products have high potential in expanding markets.However, she advised domestic firms to invest more in building value chain fortheir products, in order to broaden markets and compete with products of othercountries.-VNA