Vietnam to cooperate with Qatar in food security
Vietnam and Qatar have decided to work closer in the field of food security as the Middle East country is looking for new import sources and food trading partners in the wake of continued tensions with other Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
According to Vietnam’s ambassador in Qatar, Nguyen Dinh Thao, Vietnam has made significant advancement in food exports over the past decade and also made progress in cooperation with large food importers in the Middle East under their food security programmes.
“Vietnam plays an important role in global food security as it has made progress in food security and increased production for international markets,” Thao said, adding that “Vietnam is ready to cooperate with Qatar especially in the field of food security. High-tech agriculture is also a development focus for Vietnam in maintaining food security in the future and it is an area which Qatar and Vietnam can work together.”
Vietnam is a net exporter of agri-food, seafood, rice and many other agricultural products. In 2016, exports of agriculture and forestry products reached $18.1 billion, an increase of 6.5 per cent year-on-year and accounting for 10.3 per cent of the country’s total exports. Seafood exports were valued at $7 billion, an increase of 6.8 per cent as compared to the previous year and accounting for four percent of total export value.
Vietnam also wants to increase export of tropical fruits to the Middle East, starting with Qatar, with the main types of fruit being bananas, grapefruit, dragon fruit, mango, coconut and also durian.
Vietnam could fully meet Qatar’s demand for tropical fruits, Vietnam’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Nguyen Xuan Cuong, said. According to him, Vietnam had 1.8 million hectares of cultivation area for fruits and vegetables with an annual output of 20 million tonnes, and this figure would double in the future if demand increases.
Besides seafood, other food exports to Qatar would include Vietnam’s top agriculture products such as vegetables, coffee, cashew nuts and pepper.
Vietnam and Qatar are looking back at many years of close relations and business ties. As early as in 2008, Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority set up a $1-billion fund to invest in agricultural development, as well as cattle and lamb farming in Vietnam.
Qatar is also investing in the real estate, tourism, banking and petroleum sector in Vietnam, and the Gulf country’s national airline Qatar Airways operates direct flights from Doha to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City
Currently, there are around 1,400 Vietnamese citizens residing in Qatar, namely researchers, students, engineers and workers in the construction and service industry.
Vietnam and Qatar have decided to work closer in the field of food security as the Middle East country is looking for new import sources and food trading partners in the wake of continued tensions with other Gulf Cooperation Council countries. According to Vietnam’s ambassador in Qatar, Nguyen Dinh Thao, Vietnam has made significant advancement in food exports over the past decade and also made progress in cooperation with large food importers in the Middle East under their food security programmes. “Vietnam plays an important role in global food security as it has made progress in food security and increased...
Vietnam and Qatar have decided to work closer in the field of food security as the Middle East country is looking for new import sources and food trading partners in the wake of continued tensions with other Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
According to Vietnam’s ambassador in Qatar, Nguyen Dinh Thao, Vietnam has made significant advancement in food exports over the past decade and also made progress in cooperation with large food importers in the Middle East under their food security programmes.
“Vietnam plays an important role in global food security as it has made progress in food security and increased production for international markets,” Thao said, adding that “Vietnam is ready to cooperate with Qatar especially in the field of food security. High-tech agriculture is also a development focus for Vietnam in maintaining food security in the future and it is an area which Qatar and Vietnam can work together.”
Vietnam is a net exporter of agri-food, seafood, rice and many other agricultural products. In 2016, exports of agriculture and forestry products reached $18.1 billion, an increase of 6.5 per cent year-on-year and accounting for 10.3 per cent of the country’s total exports. Seafood exports were valued at $7 billion, an increase of 6.8 per cent as compared to the previous year and accounting for four percent of total export value.
Vietnam also wants to increase export of tropical fruits to the Middle East, starting with Qatar, with the main types of fruit being bananas, grapefruit, dragon fruit, mango, coconut and also durian.
Vietnam could fully meet Qatar’s demand for tropical fruits, Vietnam’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Nguyen Xuan Cuong, said. According to him, Vietnam had 1.8 million hectares of cultivation area for fruits and vegetables with an annual output of 20 million tonnes, and this figure would double in the future if demand increases.
Besides seafood, other food exports to Qatar would include Vietnam’s top agriculture products such as vegetables, coffee, cashew nuts and pepper.
Vietnam and Qatar are looking back at many years of close relations and business ties. As early as in 2008, Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority set up a $1-billion fund to invest in agricultural development, as well as cattle and lamb farming in Vietnam.
Qatar is also investing in the real estate, tourism, banking and petroleum sector in Vietnam, and the Gulf country’s national airline Qatar Airways operates direct flights from Doha to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City
Currently, there are around 1,400 Vietnamese citizens residing in Qatar, namely researchers, students, engineers and workers in the construction and service industry.
