Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Ha Noi, Dec. 30 (VNA) -- The Ministry of Trade is investigating ways of increasing the role of agricultural products in Viet Nam's exports to the United States.

North America is the third biggest export market for Vietnamese farm produce after Asia-Pacific and Europe and it is likely to grow further as the Viet Nam-U.S. Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) starts to have an effect.

Vietnamese agricultural products, including cashew nuts, coffee, rubber, and vegetables, currently account for only 5 percent of the country's total exports to the U.S.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), the passing of the BTA has opened up new opportunities for farmers.

MARD officials say farm produce directly exported from Viet Nam to the U.S. has risen in price by 10-20 percent since the agreement was passed, which has led officials to speculate that the sector's export revenue may reach USD 1-1.5 billion in the years to come.

MARD plans to increase the proportion of agricultural products in total exports to the U.S. to 15 percent over the next ten years.

With priority being given to agricultural cooperation between the U.S. and Viet Nam under the trade agreement, the Ministry is looking to invest in improving product quality and sanitation standards to ensure local produce is acceptable to the demanding U.S. market.

Meanwhile, agriculturists around the country are busy researching new product strains, which it is hoped will help local farmers boost their market share around the world.

Many new Vietnamese agro-products have already gone on sale in Ho Chi Minh City, with new strains of fragrant rice grown from seeds imported from America, Thailand, Japan, and Taiwan and seedless oranges, lemons, tangerines and grapes among the products being tested on consumers.-VNS/VNA