Canada supports for Vietnams agricultural development

Vietnamese Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong and Canadian Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Lawrence MacAulay held talks in Hanoi on February 27 to further promote agricultural cooperation between the two countries.

At the working session, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Lawrence MacAulay said that Canada will soon provide an aid package of about 15 million CAD (11.3 million USD) for a food safety project in Vietnam.

The Canadian government helped the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development carry out a project building quality farm produce worth 17 million CAD (12.8 million USD) between 2008 and 2014, and another providing technical and policy assistance to restructure the agricultural sector at a total cost of 500,000 CAD (379,000 USD) which concluded in December 2016.

Minister MacAulay expressed his hope that Canana wants to boost exports of lobsters, blueberry, and pork to Vietnam.

Minister Cuong said the trade potential between Vietnam and Canada is very huge. Goods shipped between the two countries are supplementary, which helps propel bilateral economic ties forward, the minister said.

He urged the two sides to help businesses promote investment and develop farm produce markets.

Canada mainly exports seafood, wheat flour, soybeans, beef, pork, fruit, and cattle-feed material to Vietnam.

Theh Vietnamese minister said Vietnam wishes to import high-quality pork. The country’s aquatic industry is also developing, hence, Canada could study breeding lobsters in Vietnam for sale in the country and for export.

Vietnam is a leading trade partner of Canada among the 10 ASEAN countries, the minister said, adding that agri-food and seafood play a crucial role in exports to Canada. 

He  said Vietnam exported 2.65 billion USD worth of goods to Canada, and imported 389.9 million USD in 2016.

Translated by Thu Minh

Source: Thien Tu-Kinhtedothi