Imagine there was a food tax that increased your grocery bills by nearly 20%. That’s essentially what the Common Agricultural Policy does to food prices in the EU. Now picture that tax going up even more, to 50%. That’s exactly what the EU’s recent decision to slap hefty tariffs on Russian grain imports is all about.

The current negotiations for an ambitious, mutually beneficial new trade deal with Indonesia, similar to the ones already successfully concluded and implemented with Singapore and Vietnam, should be agreed before the end of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s term.

Canada is currently the 7th largest and most important export market of Vietnam. Many industries such as rice, textiles, spices and processed foods... still have great potential to penetrate the market. However, issues such as logistics costs, increasing competition, and the lack of a strong brand mark for Vietnamese products are problems that enterprises need to overcome to increase exports to Canada.

Promoting export is critical in a world of rapid international integration, but to gain strength in export, it is important for enterprises to have strong foothold in the domestic market.

Vietnam’s squid and octopus exports in the first quarter of the year are estimated at about US$136 million, suffering a slight decrease of 2% against the same period from last year, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

Over the past two months of this year, the country spent US$18.69 million on importing over 8,400 tonnes of chilled or frozen pork, marking a yearly decline of 1 per cent in value but 4.2 per cent rise in volume, according to the General Department of Việt Nam Customs.

With 652,000 tonnes of coffee exported to the EU worth 1.66 billion USD in 2023, Vietnam was the second biggest coffee supplier of the EU in terms of volume and third largest supplier in terms of value.

With 32,750 tonnes of durian exported to China during the opening two months of the year, Vietnam outperformed Thailand as it emerged as the largest durian supplier for the northern neighbour, according to details given by Thai newswire The Nation.

The Commerce Ministry’s arm DGTR has recommended imposition of anti-dumping duty on imports of hydraulic rock breakers from China, and Korea for five years to protect the domestic industry from cheap inbound shipments.

Import turnover of livestock products in the first quarter was estimated at about $702 million, down 6.7 per cent compared to the same period in 2023.