Largest US agri trade mission seeks business opportunities in Vietnam

A U.S. trade delegation of 100 participants, the largest agricultural trade mission in the history of U.S.-Vietnam trade relations, is now in Vietnam in search of business opportunities.

The trade mission includes 35 U.S. business representatives, officials from nine state departments of agriculture, and representatives from 21 USDA cooperators.

The multi-city trade mission spans Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, even attracting international buyers from Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, and Thailand.

The delegation is being led by Alexis Taylor, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs, marking her second trip to Vietnam in two years.

Before arriving in Hanoi, the delegation started visiting HCMC on Monday.

Agriculture plays a huge role in our bilateral trade relationship, and Vietnam now ranks as the U.S’s 10th-largest export market for agricultural and food products, Taylor said in HCMC.

She added that throughout the week, the participating companies will meet with businesses from Burma, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam to foster strategic partnerships that lay the groundwork for future sales.

During a press briefing in Hanoi on Thursday, she explained the trade mission’s focus on connecting with key importers for business-to-business meetings and learning about local and regional market conditions through site visits and briefings with industry experts and government officials in Hanoi and HCMC.

“Markets in Southeast Asia hold immense opportunity for U.S. exporters. Vietnamese consumers are increasingly turning to U.S. products to meet growing demands for food processing, retail, and restaurant sectors, with exceptional presence in tree nut, fresh fruit, poultry, beef, and pork industries,” said Taylor.

She went on to say that their presence is comprehensive and ambitious in Vietnam, working frequently with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and other government agencies.

“Our teams here work tirelessly to help Vietnam improve its regulatory infrastructure and science-based decision-making processes, advancing efforts on agricultural biotechnology, market access of U.S. products, maximum residue limits, fertilizer use, sustainability, and more,” the undersecretary noted.

The trade mission follows the recent expansion of market access for U.S. peaches and nectarines and coincides with the first anniversary of the U.S.-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

Exports of U.S. agricultural and related products to Vietnam totaled nearly $3.5 billion in 2023, according to USDA. U.S. tree nuts, fresh fruit, poultry, beef and pork are in particularly high demand by Vietnam’s food processing, retail and restaurant sectors.