On August 28, within the framework of implementing the Ecosystem to take advantage of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), in Buon Ma Thuot city, the Ministry of Industry and Trade coordinated with the Department of Industry and Trade of Dak Lak province to organize a "Direct discussion with business leaders in provinces and cities about the ecosystem to take advantage of FTAs, including the CPTPP Agreement, in the coffee sector".
The seminar was held in person with the participation of representatives of the Ministry of Industry and Trade (Department of Multilateral Trade Policy); representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Department of International Cooperation), representatives of management agencies on FTA implementation and import-export of Dak Lak and Dak Nong provinces; representatives of the Vietnam Coffee - Cocoa Association; Tony Blair Institute for Development (TBI) and enterprises producing, trading and operating in the coffee sector in the province.
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| Scene of the Seminar |
For many consecutive years, Vietnam has always been in the top countries with the highest coffee export output in the world. In particular, the provinces in the Central Highlands have coffee growing areas and output that account for almost the entire country. According to the report of the representative of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dak Lak is considered the coffee capital of the country. Accordingly, the province has a growing area of 212,650 hectares, equivalent to nearly 1/3 of the total coffee growing area in the country, with the largest output in the country reaching 540,938 tons.
Mr. Ngo Van Nhiem, Deputy Director of the Department of Industry and Trade of Dak Lak province, said that in the first 6 months of 2024, Dak Lak province exported 174,942 tons of coffee, reaching a turnover of 600.721 million USD. In Dak Lak province, there are also many large coffee production and export enterprises in the country such as: Dak Lak 2/9 Import-Export One Member Limited Liability Company (Simexco DakLak), Trung Nguyen Group... actively contributing to the province's export turnover.
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Mr. Ngo Chung Khanh, Deputy Director of Multilateral Trade Policy Department, Ministry of Industry and Trade, presented on the Ecosystem of FTA utilization in the coffee industry at the Seminar. |
Besides large enterprises with relatively complete and optimal operating models, small and medium enterprises, cooperatives, and coffee business households are facing many difficulties and challenges.
Accordingly, the Department of Industry and Trade of Dak Lak province, representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, representatives of the Vietnam Coffee - Cocoa Association, a number of coffee enterprises and cooperatives all pointed out the difficulties encountered such as converting the area of crops in the area to other crops, lack of human resources, lack of capital, lack of information about the market, product standards, foreign consumer tastes and trends in adjusting laws and regulations related to sustainable development of major import partners in the world, of which coffee will be one of the objects directly affected.
In the past, the Government and local management agencies have been very active in warning, guiding, and supporting businesses, cooperatives, and farmers. However, these supports have not been highly widespread and have not been able to help these entities enhance their proactive connection with each other as well as with other entities related to import and export. Therefore, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has studied the Ecosystem model to take advantage of FTAs, especially new generation FTAs.
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| Delegates contribute opinions at the Seminar |
At the Seminar, directly discussing with business leaders in provinces and cities about the ecosystem to take advantage of FTAs (including the CPTPP Agreement) in the coffee sector, Mr. Ngo Chung Khanh, Deputy Director of the Department of Multilateral Trade Policy, Ministry of Industry and Trade, introduced the Ecosystem Project to take advantage of FTAs in the coffee sector, including: Objectives, connection methods, roles and benefits of participating parties, methods of operation to support businesses to take advantage of FTAs, participation criteria, difficulties in building the Ecosystem, roadmap and steps to build the Ecosystem in the coming time.
The organization of the Seminar aims to introduce the Ecosystem to take advantage of FTAs in the coffee sector, to receive opinions and answer questions from relevant entities that will participate in the Ecosystem. This activity helps the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the drafting agency, have more practical basis to deploy and report to the Prime Minister on the feasibility of the model to bring practical results, helping coffee businesses take advantage of FTAs, especially new generation FTAs, in a truly and thoroughly way.
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