Vietnamese farm produce seeks foothold in Japan

Tra Vinh Farm Limited Liability Company recently introduced traditional products of the Khmer people in Tra Vinh Province at a workshop held in Hanoi to discuss Vietnam-Japan cooperation towards green growth. Tran Thi Kim Ngan, a representative of Tra Vinh Farm, said that the company has overcome numerous difficulties and challenges, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The first consignment of Tra Vinh Farm’s coconut nectar exports to Japan - photo: Tra Vinh Farm

Tra Vinh Farm has been present in the market for more than five years and launched various product lines. Fresh coconut blossom water is a special product of the company, which is hand-collected from coconut blossoms with traditional blossom massaging and nectar harvesting techniques of the Khmer people in Tra Vinh.

“Coconut nectar is a purely natural and low-sugar product rich in minerals. It helps stabilize blood sugar levels and is suitable for children, diabetes patients, dieters and sportspersons. Notably, this product sells well in Japan,” Ngan said.

According to Ngan, in 2021, Tra Vinh Farm exported coconut nectar via an official trade channel to Japan and received positive feedback from consumers. However, difficulties in the post-pandemic period have interrupted the export of this product.

Vietnamese fresh lychees on the shelf of a Japanese supermarket

“Tra Vinh Farm introduces its products to representatives of Japanese companies at the workshop in an effort to resume exports and to seek investors who want to transfer new technologies in agricultural production. Like many other Vietnamese farm produce businesses, Tra Vinh Farm expects to benefit from the cooperation between Vietnam and Japan,” Ngan said.

Le Gia Limited Liability Company has exported fish sauce products to Japan for the past several years. Company Director Le Anh said that Japan is one of the most fastidious markets in the world, and products which have successfully conquered it can also enter other markets.

Kubo Yoshitomo, Deputy Chief Representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Vietnam, affirmed that the agency is accelerating projects under its cooperation programs with the National Agricultural Extension Center to help Vietnamese localities increase agricultural productivity, enhance supply chain efficiency, tighten the linkage between economic development models, especially in the private sector, and improve the livelihood of local people.

“These projects are expected to bring small and micro-enterprises new development opportunities, motivating their further efforts to recover and overcome existing difficulties,” Kubo said.

Vietnam is a country with high agricultural output, and in the opinion of experts, Vietnamese farm produce businesses should be determined to create deeply-processed products of equal quality to those of any other countries in the world.