Opportunities and challenges for vietnam's agricultural exports to the eu market when the evfta agreement officially comes into effect

Nội dung text: Opportunities and challenges for vietnam's agricultural exports to the eu market when the evfta agreement officially comes into effect

1. OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES FOR VIETNAM'S AGRICULTURAL EXPORTS TO THE EU MARKET WHEN THE EVFTA AGREEMENT OFFICIALLY COMES INTO EFFECT Assoc. Prof. Nguyen Van Tuan1 Abstract: The article focuses on analyzing the current situation, opportunities and challenges for Vietnam's agricultural exports to the EU market when the EVFTA Agreement officially comes into effect. The results show that the potential to export agricultural products of Vietnam to this market is extremely great. However, to take advantage of the opportunities brought by EVFTA for agricultural exports, Vietnam also faces many difficulties and challenges. Therefore, the article proposes a system of solutions to take advantage of opportunities and respond to difficulties and challenges in order to further promote our country's agricultural exports to the European Union market. Key words: Opportunities, challenges, exports, agricultural products, Free Trade Agreement between Vietnam and the European Union. 1. CURRENT SITUATION OF VIETNAM'S AGRICULTURAL EXPORTS TO THE EU MARKET 1.1. Current situation of agricultural exports to the EU market. Vietnam is a country with many advantages in tropical agricultural production. Therefore, the opportunity to export agricultural products to other continents in general and the EU in particular is huge. The European Union (EU) is a thriving economic region with GDP accounting for about 23% of world GDP, per capita income up to 32,900 USD/person/year. After the normalization of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the European Community in October 1990, the Vietnam– EU trade relations continued to develop. The EU has become the most important partner of Vietnam in many fields, including trade activities. Currently, the EU is one of the largest agricultural export markets of Vietnam. Since the EU–Vietnam framework agreement, the export turnover of agricultural products to the EU market has increased 6 times now: From $ 362 million in 1999 to $ 2.59 billion in 2016. Export turnover of agricultural products especially strong increase after Vietnam joined the WTO in 2007, from 584.47 million USD in 2005 to 1.28 billion USD in 2007. In terms of proportion, exports of agricultural products to the EU market always maintain the proportion of 13%. – 19% of the total export turnover of agricultural products of Vietnam. Vietnam's agricultural exports to the EU market decreased significantly in 2009–2010, from 1.53 billion USD in 2008 to 1.36 billion USD in 2010. The decrease in exports to the EU during this period is due to the negative impact of the world economic crisis in 2008–2010 caused the consumption of imported agricultural products in general in the EU region, including imports from Vietnam, to drop sharply (–12.4% in 2009). Since 2011, the export of agricultural products to the EU has been recovered, but the speed is slow and unstable: From 41.7% in 2011 and 12.6% in 2012, it has decreased to –5.6% in 2013. and –6.7% in 2015. 1 School of International Economics and Trade – National Economics University. 662
2. Vietnam's agricultural exports to the EU have a large concentration on product categories. The main products exported to Europe accounting for 88.3% of Vietnam's agricultural exports to this market include: Coffee, raw tea (Unroasted coffee, tea in bulk & mate) and flowers tropical fruit, nuts and spices (tropical fruit, fresh or dried, nuts and spices). Currently, Vietnam has more than 10 main export agricultural products, including products exported over 1 billion USD such as coffee, cashew, rice, vegetables, pepper Vietnam's agricultural products already have present in more than 160 countries and territories around the world, including fastidious markets such as the US, EU, Japan Some products have high export positions in the world such as cashew, pepper (first place), coffee (second place), rice (third place) According to a report by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in 2018, Vietnam's export turnover to the EU was over 22.7 billion USD, accounting for over 15% of the total export turnover of Vietnam's agricultural products. According to statistics, in the first 7 months of 2019, the export turnover of agricultural, forestry and fishery products was estimated at 23.03 billion USD, up 2% over the same period, of which the export turnover of agricultural products was down to 8.2%. This shows that the export of agricultural products has been facing many barriers and difficulties. The Vietnam – EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) is considered to be a boost to Vietnam's exports, especially agricultural and aquatic products, which have many competitive advantages in the European market. EVFTA will provide an opportunity to reduce taxes and increase competitiveness in the export market in general, and the EU market in particular, so it is expected that export turnover will continue to increase. The EU, with a population of 508 million and a gross domestic product (GDP) of about 18,000 billion USD, is considered a market with great potential. EVFTA will help Vietnam's export turnover to the EU increase by about 20% by 2020; 42.7% in 2025 and 44.37% in 2030 compared with no agreement. The EU is the second largest export market of the agricultural sector, especially seafood products and coffee are Vietnam's strong products. When EVFTA comes into effect, almost all 100% of Vietnam's tariff and export turnover to the EU will be exempt from import duties after a 7–year journey. Specifically, up to 70.3% of tariff lines will return to 0% immediately and 99.7% of tariff lines will return to 0% after 10 years. Many Vietnamese products will enjoy a tax reduction of 0% such as seed products. For vegetables and fruits, the EU also commits to abolish tax when the EVFTA comes into effect. In the near future, the export turnover in the agricultural sector will increase thanks to the broader market. In particular, fruits and vegetables, coffee, cashew, seafood, wood and wood products have many positive signs. Currently, Vietnam's agricultural products are exported to 185 countries around the world. In 2018, Vietnam is the 27th largest exporter in the world in terms of size and products. Particularly in the field of agriculture and fisheries, Vietnam ranks 15th in the world. (Le Thi Huyen, 2020) 1.2. The current situation of agricultural products is mainly exported to the EU market * Coffee: The group of agricultural products with the largest export turnover to Europe in Vietnam (51.4% for raw coffee and tea; and 1% for products extracted from coffee and tea). Vietnam is also among the top 3 largest coffee exporting countries in the world, even at some point, Vietnam's coffee exports have surpassed Brazil to become the number one supplier (June 2016 and March 2017). Robusta production is the strength of Vietnam. For the EU market, coffee export turnover to Europe from 346.34 million USD in 2003 has quadrupled and reached 1.4 billion USD in 2016, the average growth rate in the period 2003 – 2016 reaching 13.65%/year. Although still a major supplier, coffee export growth to the EU has tended to decline from 2013 to present. The reason came from the fluctuation of world coffee prices in 2013 and unfavorable weather 663
3. events from the El Nino phenomenon, causing coffee exports to decline in both volume and turnover. In addition, because over 90% of the coffee area and output belongs to farm owners, garden owners, individual farmers. With over 500 thousand coffee farmers, it is extremely difficult to transfer technology and update information to them. * Pepper: Currently, Vietnamese pepper is present in 100 countries and territories around the world, accounting for up to 60% of the global supply. On the European market, Vietnam and Indonesia are the two largest pepper sources. EU pepper import turnover from Vietnam is about 40 thousand tons per year, accounting for 23% of total pepper export volume of Vietnam and meeting 53% of the EU's pepper demand. The largest market today is Germany with the import turnover of pepper from Vietnam up to 65.9 million USD in 2016. However, recently, the EU has warned that the residue of plant protection drugs in Vietnam's black pepper exceeds the safe level, many Vietnamese consignments have been returned. Some EU countries are gradually turning to import pepper from India and Brazil. * Vegetables and fruits: Due to climatic conditions, the EU imports a lot of tropical fruits such as bananas, oranges, mandarins, mangoes, and pineapples. The top EU importers are Germany, UK, France and the Netherlands accounting for more than 70% of the EU fruit and vegetable import turnover. Regarding the export situation of Vietnamese fruits and vegetables to the EU, Vietnamese vegetables and fruits only account for a very small share (about 1%) of the EU's fruit and vegetable imports. Among EU countries, Vietnam's main fruit and vegetable export markets are the Netherlands (5%), the UK (0.9%), France (1.9%), Germany (2%), Italy (1.1%). The import of fruits and vegetables into the EU is mainly through the Netherlands, which is considered the gateway to the EU market. In the group of fresh fruits and vegetables exported to the EU, fruits always reach the highest turnover with key products including: pineapple, dragon fruit, coconut muscle, rambutan and mango. Vietnamese vegetables and fruits are mainly exported to the EU in fresh and semi–processed forms, due to poor post–harvest technology, technology not being transferred to farmers, harvesting and preservation are still done manually. * For rice: Up to now, Vietnam's rice products have penetrated the entire EU market. In which, the largest consuming market is: Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands. However, rice exports to the EU account for a very small proportion (0.7%) in the total agricultural exports of Vietnam to the EU. At the same time, rice exports have been on a significant decline in recent years. Rice export growth has been continuously negative for the period 2014 – 2016 (–41.2% in 2014, –20% in 2015 and –4,02% in 2016). As of 2016, rice exports to the EU only accounted for 1.7% of Vietnam's rice exports, down 25.6% compared to 2015. However, the decline in rice exports is the general picture of the rice trade. the world in recent years due to oversupply. (Le Thi Huyen, 2020) 2. OPPORTUNITIES TO EXPORT AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS OF VIETNAM WHEN EVFTA COMES INTO EFFECT 2.1. Opportunities for market expansion and global value chain penetration Through EVFTA, agricultural products have a chance to further penetrate the EU market with about 500 million people; Vietnamese agricultural enterprises can easily access and trade with other markets with free trade agreements with the EU. On the other hand, EVFTA helps countries in the bloc, businesses and EU users to have more information about Vietnam, thereby helping Vietnam's agricultural products to have more access to consumers in the market. EU market. The tariff reduction under the Agreement will reduce export costs, thereby improving the competitiveness of Vietnamese agricultural exports to this market. Moreover, EVFTA together with investment incentives is expected 664
4. to further facilitate investment from European businesses in the fields of high–tech agriculture, smart agriculture, clean food, .and areas where Vietnam is currently lacking and weak. Vietnamese agricultural products that want to affirm their brands on the EU market must meet strict regulations on technical barriers, food hygiene and safety regulations, rules of origin, It is both a barrier but an opportunity for agricultural exporters, manufacturers and suppliers to improve their management capacity and self–innovation. Therefore, EVFTA is an opportunity and pressure for Vietnamese businesses to adjust and change their business methods and improve their competitiveness. This is also a good opportunity for businesses to participate more deeply in the regional and global supply chains. 2.2. More opportunities to access investment capital and modern technology in the agricultural sector EVFTA will facilitate high-quality investment flows from the EU to Vietnam with the ability to create new supply chains for the region, spread advanced technology to Vietnam, and create opportunities for workers. Vietnamese businesses and enterprises are allowed to learn and be transferred with advanced and modern technologies in the production and processing of agricultural products to meet the quality requirements of the EU and the world. In fact, more and more EU companies are choosing Vietnam as the destination for investment because of their absolute and relative advantages in labor costs. The cost structure of Vietnamese businesses is quite attractive, the advantages of Vietnam are quite diverse, the quality of the labor force as well as the protection of intellectual property rights is better than that of other countries in the region. Cooperation between Europe and Vietnam has brought about many benefits, helping Vietnamese companies to access European knowledge and high technology and providing European companies with a production base. reliable, cost effective in Asia. EVFTA brings Vietnam deeper integration into the world economy, helping Vietnam's agricultural industry to have access to investment capital, to stable raw materials, and to access advanced technology. improve, improve management capacity. EVFTA requires ministries, departments, sectors and the State to co–ordinate and make efforts to develop and implement appropriate policies to meet import and export requirements with the EU, thereby improving management capacity, improving competitiveness of the actors involved in this process. 2.3. Opportunities to self–improve production processes, improve product quality to meet EU regulations When EVFTA comes into effect, it will create a legal basis for commercial exchange activities for Vietnamese goods to be exported to Europe, meeting the quality and safety standards that this market requires. This is both a requirement and an opportunity to improve the quality of agricultural products to meet EU regulations. Vietnam has many opportunities to expand exports with strategic products and have advantages from tariff reduction and diversification of raw material supplies for agricultural production to improve product quality to meet domestic consumption and export demand. On the other hand, commitments on anti–dumping, anti–subsidies, safeguards, technical barriers to trade (TBTs), phytosanitary measures and food hygiene and safety (SPSS) has certain impacts on the export of agricultural products of Vietnam in the coming time. 2.4. Opportunities to reduce the cost of agricultural exports, reduce product costs thanks to preferential tariffs According to the agreement, our country's main exported agricultural products such as rice, coffee, honey, livestock, fruit, and aquatic products enjoy preferential tariffs right from the first years the agreement comes into effect. Vietnamese agricultural products will have the opportunity to expand export markets, increase their competitiveness compared to competitors that have not had an FTA with 665
5. the EU. On the other hand, the EU has committed to open a lot of Vietnamese vegetables and fruits on the basis of immediately eliminating 94% of the total 547 tax lines for vegetables and fruits and vegetables and products from vegetables and fruits as soon as the Agreement comes into effect. Most of the EU tariff lines committed to abolish immediately currently have a relatively high average tax rate of over 10%, especially for fruit and vegetable products subject to tax over 20%. Thus, this level of commitment of the EU will create a lot of advantages in terms of export prices for Vietnamese fruits and vegetables, especially in the import competition to the EU with countries with the same fruit and vegetable industry that have not yet had FTA. 3. CHALLENGES FOR VIETNAM'S AGRICULTURAL EXPORTS WHEN EVFTA COMES INTO EFFECT 3.1. Competitive pressure in the domestic market According to the agreement, the Vietnamese market will be open to goods and services originating from the EU, which will lead to more immediate competition from our businesses in the domestic market. The demand for imported products, especially those originating from Europe, is increasing recently. When the tariff barriers are removed, European goods will easily penetrate the Vietnamese market, at this time Vietnamese businesses will face a lot of pressure from European businesses. Particularly for agricultural products imported from the EU, the signing of the EVFTA Agreement will lead to a massive reception of products originating from the EU, which are always appreciated for quality, food hygiene and safety. on product designs Many products which are the strength of the EU imported into Vietnam such as: Milk and dairy products, pork, chicken, beef, processed food, beverages, cigarettes will tax reduction, thereby increasing competitive pressure for domestic producers, not only in terms of price but also in terms of quality and food hygiene and safety. This leads to enormous competitive pressure in the domestic market. Goods from the EU to enter Vietnam will be easier and sharply reduced because they are not subject to import tax. Consequently, the consumption of domestically produced products in the domestic market will face difficulties, and even industries have to narrow production due to inability to compete. This is not a small challenge, because EU businesses often have advantages over Vietnamese enterprises in all aspects such as competitiveness, market experience as well as the ability to take advantage of FTAs. 3.2. Regarding meeting the strict requirements related to rules of origin The EVFTA Agreement will aim to eliminate import duties, however, to enjoy preferential tariffs, goods exported to the EU need to satisfy the rules of origin must meet a certain internal content ratio (materials originating in the EU and/or Vietnam). Supporting industry of Vietnam has not yet developed, so most of raw materials and auxiliary materials for export production had to be imported. From the strict requirements of the rules of origin as mentioned above, with more than 70% of raw materials imported from Vietnam, finding a solution to the problem of meeting the rules of origin to enjoy preferential tariffs according to The EVFTA Agreement is a challenge and hindrance for Vietnam's exports in general and agricultural products in particular, because raw materials for Vietnam's exports are now mainly imported from China. National and ASEAN. Meanwhile, the EU requires agricultural products to have Global Gap certification (Global Good Agricultural Practice), in addition, the preliminary processing and processing must also be certified with HACCP (real safety management system) are based on hazard analysis and critical control points), all of which are among the highest in the world. If the rules of origin are not met, Vietnam's exports to the EU will only enjoy the most favored nation tax rate, not the 0% rate in the EVFTA, thereby reducing the competitiveness 666
6. of the manufactured products. import on the international market. In fact, Vietnam's agricultural products are being required by the EU to apply pure rules of origin, including: Honey, meat and edible meat by–products, bird eggs and poultry eggs, whole fruits and processed vegetables or otherwise preserved raw materials, tomatoes, mushrooms and truffles other than those preserved by vinegar, rice, cereal preparations, starch, unprocessed tobacco 3.3 To meet the requirements of advanced and modern technology in agricultural production and business for export When joining the EVFTA Agreement with agricultural exports that have not yet developed, the technological level is outdated, labor productivity is low, it is necessary to restructure the agricultural export industry and complete the supply chain to participate in the global agricultural supply chain. In order to do that, it is necessary to invest heavily in technology for export agricultural products in order to apply modern advanced technologies. This will be a difficult and challenging problem for our country's agricultural export industry, because Vietnam has an underdeveloped agricultural export industry, productivity is not high, and technology is outdated. Furthermore, in order to ensure technical regulations, rules of origin, and environmental standards for agricultural exports, it is necessary to meet technological requirements in the production of agricultural products. To do that, nothing but stronger investment in advanced and modern technology, machinery and equipment, this is a challenge but also conditions for the sustainable development of agricultural exports and improve their competitiveness. 3.4. Compliance with regulations related to hygiene, environmental standards, and environmental conditions of the EU countries Besides rules of origin, regulations on food hygiene and safety, phytosanitary (SPS), environmental regulations, technical barriers to trade (TBT) will also create creates certain difficulties and obstacles to Vietnam's agricultural exports. The provisions of the EVFTA Agreement on the Environment are very strict and rigorous to promote reciprocity between trade and environmental policies, promote high–level environmental protection, and enforce environmental law. Many trade– related environmental issues and sectors have been included as binding obligations and enforceable by the Parties to the Agreement through the use of economic instruments. In order to implement the environmental provision, it is necessary to make adjustments to environmental policies and laws in the agricultural sector to overcome the inadequacies in environmental protection when producing and exporting agricultural products, especially in the processing stage. This is really a challenge for Vietnam to join EVFTA because there are many stages in the processing of agricultural products that easily lead to environmental pollution, while the level and technology of environmental treatment in our country still have many difficulties. 3.5. Meeting labor standards and working conditions The strong commitment to labor in EVFTA with high standards and working conditions is also one of the major challenges facing the agricultural export industry. In order to avoid unfair competition through the failure to ensure basic working conditions for employees, EVFTA has made its own labor commitments. In particular, Viet Nam must adopt and maintain in its rules and regulations acceptable working conditions with respect to minimum wage, number of hours worked, safety and health of worker. This is a difficulty and challenge because our country's agriculture is one of the industries that use a lot of labor and in fact cannot immediately fully meet the labor regulations as specified in the Agreement. Transitioning to meet labor standards takes a certain amount of time, so getting incentives based on meeting labor regulations under the agreement is a challenge with Vietnam's agricultural export industry. 667
7. 3.6. Attracting foreign investment capital into the agricultural sector In fact, the number of EU enterprises investing in Vietnam is still low, especially in the fields of agriculture and agricultural processing. The reason for this is that Vietnam lacks attractive investment attraction policies, especially investment in the agricultural sector, and the use of these funds is not really reasonable and effective. The ability of enterprises to receive capital and technology is weak. Facing with the opportunity to receive capital and advanced technology, businesses need to reform, reform in structure, human resources, improve the quality of labor, and adjust the business strategy to receive and maximize these advantages is still a problem that needs to be solved for Vietnamese agricultural export enterprises. 3.7. Technical barriers and trade remedies In fact, many businesses are concerned that tariff barriers will decrease, but non–tariff technical barriers will increase. Types of technical barriers to trade in general and for agricultural products in particular have been applied more and more, higher, more sophisticated and complex by countries. Technology and the tendency to increase their use in agricultural product import markets pose great challenges to Vietnam's agricultural exports as the capacity to overcome technical barriers of our country. still limited at both macro and enterprise level. Furthermore, not only does the World Trade Organization allow its member countries to use trade remedies, but also within the EVFTA Agreement also allows the legal use of trade remedies through necessary tools. The formulation, enactment and application of trade remedies must comply with the WTO's anti–dumping, anti–subsidy and safeguard agreements. However, knowledge about trade defense of Vietnamese enterprises in general and agricultural export enterprises in particular is still very modest, this is a challenge for enterprises exporting agricultural products in the past. process integration. On the other hand, in order to export agricultural products to the EU market, compulsory regulations must be complied with such as: Product safety applies to all products; chemicals applied to agricultural products. The technical barriers and regulations on hygiene and epidemiology of the EU are also very high that not many Vietnamese enterprises can meet. Along with that, the EU's trade defense measures are also very heavy to overcome not simple. 3.8. About intellectual property issues In addition to market opening regulations on tariffs, commitments on non–tariff barriers as well as on trade in services and investment, cooperation and sustainable development Intelligence is also one of the institutional issues highlighted in the EVFTA. This is a relatively sensitive institution in the negotiation process because the needs of the EU and Vietnam to protect intellectual property rights are not the same. Directly related to agriculture, EVFTA has a number of specific regulations that have a great impact on Vietnam's Agriculture sector such as: trademarks, geographical indications, plant varieties Intellectual property in agriculture. Vietnam has to face with low awareness of intellectual property rights from farmers, businesses to consumers, and has not focused on building and promoting brands, Vietnamese agricultural products. Geographical indications are not protected much, on the one hand, the competitiveness of the international market is reduced, on the other hand, it cannot create an attractive business environment and attract investment. 3.9. Institutional reform to comply with commitments in the EVFTA Agreement. When joining EVFTA, Vietnam will have many more opportunities, but will also face many challenges in domestic institutional reform to promote the operation of the market economy, create an 668
8. investment environment, open, transparent. With high commitments on economic institutional reform in the Agreement, it will create motivation and pressure for Vietnam to reform. These commitments are much superior to what our country currently has, but they are completely consistent with Vietnam's long–term orientation of institutional reform. Institutional reform will bring many benefits to Vietnam, so this is both a mandatory requirement and a challenge when our country joins the EVFTA. Therefore, it is important for Vietnam to maintain a sustained quality momentum after joining EVFTA. On the contrary, if the institutional reform is passive, lack of activeness, throughout the Government to the grassroots levels, it will lead to more challenges than the opportunities that EVFTA brings. 4. SOLUTIONS TO PROMOTE EXPORTS OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS TO THE EU MARKET WHEN EVFTA TAKES EFFECT 4.1. Solution on the State side – To encourage agricultural production, on the basis of completing the agricultural development planning, encourage enterprises to invest in production, and promulgate a system of policies in the direction of encouraging export of agricultural products. The State should identify key agricultural products for export and plan to develop the agricultural sector, focusing on the development of tropical agricultural products, aquatic and marine products, and other agricultural products with residual and high export value. – Develop supporting policies for enterprises exporting agricultural products to the EU market, continuing to form material areas to focus on production large enough, enough to provide stable supply for businesses as well as insurance policies, investment in agriculture, insurance for long–term consumption contracts, especially for export crops, which have relatively stable consumption markets. At the same time, the Government has helped to form a value chain, creating a high quality Vietnamese product brand with clear origin criteria to meet the needs of countries in the European Union. – Authorities need to quickly review, adjust, supplement and develop new quality standards, techniques, labeling requirements, product packaging, food hygiene and safety, and Phytosanitary measures are in line with the requirements of WTO, EU and international practices, and enhance the ability to negotiate and negotiate with export markets for appropriate technical standards. (Vu Thi Thu Huong, Nguyen Thi Quynh Tram 2020) State management agencies, policy makers, consultants and laws in Vietnam need to improve institutions, laws, ensure legal compatibility, especially dispute settlement mechanis, protected by European and international law. – Modify and improve trade policy, aiming to develop supporting industries to increase domestic content and added value for export agricultural products. Trade documents and decrees should be issued and revised to suit commitments in EVFTA and Vietnam's conditions. In particular, it is necessary to focus on completing the program of implementing technical barriers in trade; developing standards for agricultural exports; Carry out a review of goods before exporting to the EU as well as many other markets. – Implement policies to support farmers. In addition to applying the form of price subsidy, purchasing and temporary storage of agricultural products, the State should have more supportive policies for farmers to produce agricultural products for domestic consumption and export. First of all, it is necessary to have propaganda measures to give farmers a broader understanding of the EVFTA Agreement and its impacts on the world agricultural export market. – Developing synchronous infrastructure system together with support services to promote the export of agricultural products in a sustainable manner. Develop and implement an extensive marketing 669
9. strategy to international markets. Investing in the construction of large–scale production and processing industrial zones, ensuring balance of supply and demand and maintaining stable jobs for workers. – Building and developing the supply chain of agricultural products for export, in order to reduce costs and increase the competitiveness of products. Continue to encourage investment in agricultural processing and storage facilities that ensure global standards for food safety. – Establishing the product traceability system. This system shows the origin of the product, how the product is produced as well as the product's pathway, thereby creating consumer confidence when shopping for the product. – Development of services in the agricultural sector such as: Agricultural services supporting inputs for production, services for agricultural production capital, training services, consulting services for agricultural production development. entire, agricultural production insurance services. – Supporting enterprises to build brands of agricultural products professionally, as well as advertising, trade promotion, information provision for key enterprises and cooperatives operating in the agricultural sector. – Training and developing human resources for the agricultural sector. In fact, although Vietnam has many advantages for agricultural development, the majority of human resources in agriculture have not met the requirements of the application of new scientific and technological achievements. Some agricultural sectors have not really attracted learners, students have difficulty. The training of highly qualified human resources for agricultural development is an urgent requirement in the current situation. 4.2. Solutions on the business side – Enterprises need to actively seek information about the EVFTA Agreement to grasp Vietnam's commitments and EU commitments, especially information on tax incentives under the Agreement for Vietnamese goods that has the strength or potential for export in the coming time. Enterprises need to be aware of the opportunities and challenges brought by EVFTA, and regularly train and guide their staff and employees on EVFTA's content. The main contents of the Agreement are currently posted on the official website of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. This is a useful reference information channel for businesses when learning about EVFTA. – Enterprises need to develop strategies and solutions to overcome non–tariff barriers, deal with technical barriers of other countries, especially in the agricultural sector. To do that, it is required that each business should have research and standards required for each market area, the governing law, the barriers that will be encountered. Enterprises need to apply the most advanced production technology in the world, and at the same time successfully build a quality management system according to ISO 9001: 2000, ISO 14000, HACCP Agricultural export enterprises must Invest in raw materials, invest in the supply chain of their own agricultural products. Enterprises must pay attention to market information, besides the general rules, each country in the EU union has its own tastes and characteristics related to consumption, so businesses need to find out. carefully determine the target market, thereby building a market access strategy. – Enterprises also need to change their business mindset in a new context, taking competition pressure as the driving force for innovation and development. Enterprises also need to actively seek cooperation with partner markets under the Agreement to strongly attract direct investment in Vietnam, in order to effectively utilize capital resources and technology transfer from corporations. big. EVFTA will certainly bring opportunities for businesses to actively respond to changes in the business environment brought about by international economic integration through the development and adjustment of business plans for the medium and long term period to boost agricultural exports to the EU market. 670
10. – Vietnamese enterprises need to improve their competitiveness on the basis of productivity, quality and efficiency associated with the European and global value chains, requiring proactive in taking advantage of the spillover effects of the business sector. enterprises with foreign investment (FDI). Vietnamese businesses need to have connections with logistics enterprises specializing in importing and distributing EU goods through focal units in order to reduce trade costs and improve product export competitiveness. At the same time, businesses also need to build their own brands and focus on producing products with high added value, instead of exporting raw agricultural products, especially forming key product chains to be able to facing the problems raised by the EVFTA Agreement's entry into force. Accordingly, farmers and enterprises must increase productivity and constantly improve product quality on the basis of improving and developing good varieties with many advantages and high productivity, quality, and application of regulations. Progressive and effective breeding and rearing process, organizing production activities in an organized, specific and modern manner. Especially, for export agricultural products, subject to competitive pressure from international markets, production activities need to be professionally reorganized and standards raised. – Focusing on modernizing agriculture, creating, maintaining and developing relationships with businesses and functional agencies, thereby forming cooperatives, large agricultural production areas, joining the industry associations, learn together, come up with domestic business development policies, attract foreign investment in order to receive large capital sources and advanced science and technology. – Enterprises need to proactively formulate strategies to export agricultural products. For markets requiring high standards such as the EU, there should be major groups of agricultural exports, which means building a list of agricultural products for export. Facing the pressure of integration with international standards, businesses need to focus on synchronous engineering, applying international standards to the production and business process, making their products meet their market's need. 4.3. Solution on the side of Vietnam Agricultural Products Association – Industry associations should continue to implement activities to provide and advise businesses on business law, knowledge about international economic integration, EVFTA as well as experience in dealing with international lawsuits, non–tariff barriers to agricultural products of the EU market; Organization of trade promotion programs – investment in EU countries; introduce agricultural products to domestic and foreign markets – The industry association continues to promote the role of a bridge between businesses and regulators, supporting member enterprises to have the opportunity to access information, access and expand markets, and build brands. – Industry associations should strengthen education for its members on laws of the countries, intellectual property, industrial property, quality control, rules of origin; Enhance training for business leaders and cooperatives in foreign languages and information technology application in the current development of e-commerce. 4.4. Solution on the side of agricultural producers to export – Producers of agricultural products for export need regular dissemination of basic knowledge about the cultivation process, guidance to meet the basic criteria of quality, origin, residues of antibiotics, and food protection., Aquaculture households need to register for an export code before exporting their products to the EU market. Agricultural producers for export need to be guided, updated processes, procedures, and applications to help their agricultural products meet export requirements to the EU, for example 671
11. Global Gap standards, HACCP, electronic traceability facilities such as QRCode, Blockchain will help avoid being tampered with. Producers of agricultural products for export should have a plan to expand export markets and overcome technical barriers, on the basis of promoting cooperation in production, application of high technology, and strict compliance with regulations of quality in the chain to control the quality of agricultural products effectively and to have a stable volume of agricultural products exported to the European market. Instead of just focusing on the end product, businesses and cooperatives should pay attention to the whole value chain that production stages must be protected against risks; traceability, labels of products must be public, transparent, creating momentum for agricultural exports to the EU for sustainable growth. (Vu Thi Thu Huong, Nguyen Thi Quynh Tram, 2020). REFERENCES 1. Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (2019), Conference of Opportunities and Challenges for Vietnam's agriculture when joining free trade agreements (FTAs) 2. Statistics on export turnover of agricultural products of Vietnam over the years, General Statistics Office 3. Dr. Vu Thi Thu Huong, MSc Nguyen Thi Quynh Tram (2020), Export of Vietnamese agricultural products to the EU market and opportunities and challenges from EVFTA. National scientific conferences, the story of new generation free trade agreements to trade and investment in Vietnam. 4. Associate Professor – Dr. Nguyen Van Lich, MSc Nguyen Trong Nhan (2020), The impact of EVFTA on Vietnam's agricultural exports to the EU market. National scientific conferences, the story of new generation free trade agreements to trade and investment in Vietnam. 5. Le Thi Huyen (2020) Analyzing opportunities and challenges for Vietnam's agricultural exports when EVFTA officially comes into effect. Specialized scheme of International Trade. 672