With the stronger partnership forge by Philippines and Vietnam, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez discussed market access opportunities for various Philippine (PH) products with Vietnam Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) Deputy Minister Tran Thanh Nam.
In the meeting last March 22, the Trade Chief shared that a huge percentage of PH rice imports are from Vietnam and the PH government would like to balance this by exporting more agricultural products and processed foods to that country. Some of the products mentioned in the discussion were mango, banana, flour, processed meat, as well as canned meat.
For his part, Deputy Minister Nam expressed his appreciation for the quality of mango, banana, and pineapple PH produces. He likewise conveyed the need to have stronger PH-Viet Nam bilateral trade relations with focus on agro products.
The meeting which was attended by DTI Assistant Secretary Angelo Taningco and Bureau of International Trade Relations Assistant Director Butch Benedictos; MARD’s Agro Processing and Market Development Authority Deputy Director General Pham Van Duy, Department of Plant Protection Deputy Director General Bui Si Doanh, and Department of Livestock Production Deputy Director General Nguyen Van Trong; and Ministry of Industry and Trade of Viet Nam Deputy Director of Asian-South Asia Department of Asia – Africa Market Nguyen Duong Kien.
