Vietnam-Australia Agricultural Trade Has Significant Growth Potential

Australian imports are increasingly well-received by Vietnamese consumers. Australia is becoming a reliable supplier for Vietnam's production needs, providing essential raw materials for developing value chains, particularly in diverse and high-quality agricultural products. Conversely, Australian consumers now have the opportunity to enjoy a variety of agricultural products and foods from Vietnam. However, agricultural trade between Vietnam and Australia remains below potential. Over a 20-year period from 2002 to 2021, while bilateral agricultural trade increased 14.3 times from USD 189 million to USD 2.7 billion, it still accounted for a low share, rising from 12% to around 22% of total bilateral trade. The types of agricultural products exchanged between Australia and Vietnam are also limited, mainly focusing on a few types of fruits and live animals.

Identifying Barriers in Vietnam-Australia Agricultural Trade

• The policy to leverage common FTAs to promote bilateral agricultural trade is not strong enough, despite both Vietnam and Australia being members of three FTAs: AANZFTA, CPTPP, and RCEP.
• The awareness of businesses in both countries regarding these common FTAs, partner markets, available incentives, and procedures for bilateral trade, as well as distribution systems and main competitors in each other's markets, is limited.
• Vietnamese farmers and businesses have limited knowledge of the requirements for exporting agricultural products to Australia and lack the capacity to meet these requirements.

Opportunities to Boost Vietnam-Australia Agricultural Trade

• The government needs to continue establishing a favorable policy environment to promote trade relations between the two parties.
• There should be strategies to encourage the production and export of high-quality agricultural products, especially focusing on strong categories such as seafood, fruits, and rice.
• Providing more information about the Australian market to Vietnamese businesses is crucial.
• Increasing the understanding of Vietnamese businesses and farmers regarding the FTAs between Vietnam and Australia, especially among enterprises, can create incentives to enhance integration capacity.
• Collaborating with Australia within the framework of common FTAs to harmonize non-tariff measures, while also working together to improve capacity to meet these measures, particularly SPS and TBT requirements.
• Strengthening the role of the Vietnam Trade Office in Australia in connecting Australian businesses with Vietnamese companies and developing trade promotion programs for Vietnamese agricultural products in the Australian market.
• The government should focus on training and developing human resources, especially high-quality personnel, to create skilled management levels in the agricultural sector.
• Enhancing digital transformation in agricultural production and trade; increasing investment in green and sustainable agricultural production, and controlling quality in growing and farming areas.