Vietnam seeks to promote agricultural exports to Turkey
Despite facing complicated developments caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, there remains bright spots for local agricultural exports, such as cashew nuts, pepper, rubber, rice, and coffee to the Turkish market, according to the Vietnamese trade office in Turkey.
During the course of a recent online conference aimed at strengthening linkages between consumption and export of agricultural, aquatic, and livestock products in the southern and the Central Highlands regions, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien emphasised the need to promote the export of these items to emerging markets such as Turkey. This is in addition to traditional markets such as China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea.
According to data compiled by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK), Vietnam took the lead in terms of cashew nut exports to Turkey, accounting for approximately 94% of the overall market share of cashew exports to this market during the first half of the year.
The country exported a total of 4,607.82 tonnes of cashew worth US$16.47 million to Turkey throughout the reviewed period, representing a rise of 52.8% in volume, despite facing high transportation costs and a shortage of containers due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Furthermore, the country continues to retain the leading position in relation to exporting pepper to Turkey, with 2,236.3 tonnes worth more than US$4.32 million during the six-month period.
This figure represents a sharp increase of 27.6% in volume and 37.1% in value, thereby accounting for roughly 60% of the market share of export value to Turkey.
Moreover, the country currently ranks fourth in export turnover of natural rubber products, making up 11.7% of the export market share to the Turkish market.
This move indicates that Turkish rubber importers have gradually paid greater attention to Vietnamese products due to its price and quality, as opposed to the same products from regional peers such as Indonesia or Thailand.
The Vietnam Trade Office in Turkey has therefore advised domestic enterprises to participate in trade promotion schemes such as WorldFood Istanbul and Sirha Istanbul in Turkey in order to seek co-operation opportunities with Turkish businesses.
Vietnamese enterprises must also introduce products with geographical indications for cashew products, such as Binh Phuoc cashew in order to make a difference in terms of quality compared to other products, according to the trade office.
