Hanoi (VNA) – Delegates at a forum onNovember 23 suggested Vietnamese firms further study the Russian market to increasethe export of agricultural and aquatic products to the country.

The online forum was jointly held by the Vietnamese Ministryof Agriculture, Rural Development (MARD), the Russian Ministry of Agriculture,the Russian Embassy in Vietnam, and the Vietnamese Embassy in Russia.

According to MARD Deputy Minister Tran Thanh Nam,Vietnam is holding No. 1 position in trade turnover with Russia in SoutheastAsia, and is Russia’s sixth largest trade partner in Asia-Pacific.

Two-way trade reached 4.5 billion USD during the2018-2020 period, of which farm produce accounted for around 18-20 percent, or900 million USD each year.

In the first 10 months of this year, Vietnam’s agro-forestry-fisheryexport to Russia stood at 469 million USD, up 32.6 percent year-on-year.

Vietnam mainly shipped aquatic products, coffee,cashew nuts, fruit, tea, wood and rice to Russia, while importing aquatic products,wheat, fertilizers, timber, meat and dairy products.

The two sides should make use of their advantages andturn challenges into opportunities amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Nam said.

Russian Deputy Minister of Agriculture Sergey LvovichLevin said the Vietnam-Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) Free Trade Agreement hasopened up trade opportunities for the two countries.

Vietnam is a dynamic and developed market in theregion, the official said, stressing the two countries would promote theiragricultural trade to a new level.

Echoing Levin’s views, Vietnamese Trade Counselor inRussia Duong Hoang Minh said thanks to the EAEU, most of Vietnam’s agriculturaland aquatic exports to Russia have enjoyed a zero tariff.

He suggested Vietnamese enterprises participate morein major Russian exhibitions to further study the market, thus boostingagricultural and aquatic export to the country.

In addition, they should invest more in the productsthat have advantages like coffee, aquatic products and processed fruit, hesaid, explaining that raw material exports bring about low economic values.

To Tuong Lan, Deputy Secretary General of the VietnamAssociation of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), suggested agencies of thetwo countries work to remove difficulties facing their businesses.

She called on the Russian Federal Service forVeterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance to allow more Vietnamese seafoodenterprises to enter the Russian market, saying the two sides can promote bilateralpayments in local currencies and launch rail services to ease the pressure on thesea route.

Nam expressed his hope that during the upcomingvisit to Russia by President Nguyen Xuan Phuc, the two countries’ competent agencies will continue to review regulations on food safety, and expand the list ofexporters./.