Nebraska governor focuses on Vietnam market to bolster trade

Governor of the U.S. state of Nebraska Jim Pillen will continue to focus on building trade, investment, economic development and educational opportunities with Vietnam moving forward, his office said.

In a statement on Sunday (U.S. time), the Midwestern state’s office said Pillen’s trade mission to Vietnam on July 9-15 aimed largely at promoting Nebraska's agriculture and food products to consumers in Vietnam.

His visits during the trip included MM Mega Market, a Thailand-invested supermarket chain, and Vietnamese store New Viet Dairy.

Both locations, located in Ho Chi Minh City, operate grocery stores that import significant quantities of U.S. meat products, including beef, into Vietnam.

“It is very informative to learn about what consumers are looking for at the grocery store and to see how our products are displayed,” Pillen said in the statement.

“Understanding that will allow us to cater more specifically to the desires of those customers in a way that is beneficial to Nebraska farmers, producers and other related businesses.”

In addition to inspecting the products at the two locations, members of his delegation witnessed how they were marketed to shoppers.

The trade mission was the governor’s first to Vietnam. The Nebraska delegation included director Sherry Vinton of the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, chancellor Dr. Joanne Li of the University of Nebraska – Omaha, and agriculture-related business, academic and government representatives.

In Vietnam’s southern industrial province of Binh Duong on July 12, Pillen and Binh Duong Chairman Vo Van Minh signed a memorandum of understanding to step up the two sides’ cooperation in many areas.