The Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Development is compiling a draft circular to give a list of key national agricultural products, with 15 items having been tentatively chosen, the local media reported.

A list of 15 national key agricultural products proposed by the Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Development

The 15 products are rice, coffee, rubber, cashew, pepper, tea, cassava and cassava products, ginseng, vegetables, pork, beef, chicken, tra fish (Pangasius), shrimp and lobster, and wood and wooden products.

Countries across the world have selected agricultural staples to encourage their development. However, no common set of criteria has been released to date to identify key agricultural goods among countries. Instead, each nation chooses its key farm staples based on its own natural, socioeconomic conditions, as well as its political and welfare targets.

According to international experience, there are four criterion groups that most countries around the world use to identify and develop their national agricultural staples: economy, society, environment and prioritized products.

To ensure the stable output of local farm produce in particular and develop the agricultural sector in a sustainable manner, many experts  and suppliers in the sector during recent conferences suggested relevant management agencies focus on zoning specialized farming areas and applying advanced technology to farming, adding that agricultural products should be produced in line with VietGAP and GlobalGAP standards.

Exports of Vietnamese farm produce have advanced to secure second place in the Southeast Asian region and rank 15th in the world, said the ministry. In addition, export turnover for farm produce this year is forecast to hit some US$40 billion.

The agricultural sector’s trade surplus edged up to US$8.5 billion last year from the 2015 figure of US$7 billion and is expected to exceed US$9 billion this year, contributing to the country’s foreign currency balance, remarked Minister Nguyen Xuan Cuong.

SGT