EU meat producers would like a bigger bite of Viet Nam's market

Export of pork, for instance, went up in the period from 822 tonnes worth 933,630 euro (US$1 million) in 2012 to 6,149 tonnes worth 6.7 million euro ($7.2 million) last year. Photo eat-halal.com

There had been rapid growth in EU meat exports to Viet in the last three years, it said.

Export of pork, for instance, went up in the period from 822 tonnes worth 933,630 euro (US$1 million) in 2012 to 6,149 tonnes worth 6.7 million euro ($7.2 million) last year, Agnieszka Rozanska, UPEMI's managing director, said. Beef and meat product shipments had also shot up, with export of meat products increasing by over 70 times, she said.

Pork exports by Poland, one of the biggest meat producers in the EU, had increased sharply, but the country had not exported beef to Viet Nam and was in the process of getting approval for it, she said.

UPEMI is implementing a campaign called "Tradition and quality of European meat" in three target markets — the US, South Korea, and Viet Nam — to promote the advantages, quality and principles of production of fresh, refrigerated and frozen beef and pork and products made from these meats.

The main goal of the three-year campaign (2013- 2016) is to increase exports of European meats and meat products to the target markets and deepen knowledge of the quality, flavour and production standards there.

The EU's meat exports to Viet Nam were expected to rise by over 5 per cent next year, Rozanska said.

The Viet Nam-EU free trade agreement, which is expected to conclude this year, would create more advantages for EU meat exports to Viet Nam, she said.

Europe is famous for its quality beef and pork as a result of breeding based on stringent EU regulations and the care given to every element of the food chain.

Mariusz Boguszewski, economic counsellor at the Polish embassy in Ha Noi, said trade between Viet Nam and Poland was worth $1.5 billion last year, a year-on-year increase of 30 per cent.

Viet Nam enjoyed a surplus with Poland, with its exports being worth $1.3 billion, he said, adding that Poland wanted to boost its agricultural exports to Viet Nam to narrow the deficit.

Rozanska said UPEMI along with seven Polish companies would take part in the 2015 Food and Hotel Vietnam to be held at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre from April 21 to 23 to introduce and promote EU meat products.