The EU – Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) will bring great benefits to Viet Nam's agricultural sector, according to an official from the European Parliament (EP).

High-quality items of Viet Nam such as cashew, tea and coffee, will benefit from the EVFTA (Photo: VNA)

Under the agreement, which was approved by the Vietnamese National Assembly on June 8, as many as 65 percent of import taxes on Vietnamese goods will be removed when the agreement comes into effect, and the rest will be lifted gradually until 2030, said Marc Tarabella, a parliamentarian from the EP’s Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI).

Viet Nam will enjoy a duty-free quota on 30,000 tonnes of white rice, 20,000 tonnes of whole grain rice and 30,000 tonnes of fragrant rice.

Other commodities of the country, including high-quality items such as cashew, tea and coffee, will also benefit from the deal, he added.

Not only Viet Nam, the European side will benefit from exporting beef, dairy products and pork to the Southeast Asian nation, he noted.

According to the European parliamentarian, the EVFTA is a win-win deal as it is expected to help increase Viet Nam’s export turnover to Europe by over 15 billion EUR, and exports of European markets to Viet Nam by over 8 billion EUR per year.

However, he recommended that when the deal comes into full effect, Viet Nam must improve productivity in farming, as well as abide by international and European food safety standards in production, he noted. 

The EVFTA will serve as a lever, truly offering an opportunity to expand trade links between the two sides, Marc Tarabella said.

Source: VNA