An Giang vegetable exports to Cambodia thrive on zero tariffs

31th March, 2009

The amount of vegetables exported from An Giang Province to Cambodia doubled following a tariff exemption agreement for 40 agriculture products between Viet Nam and Cambodia. — VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Long

AN GIANG — About 70 tonnes of vegetables are exported from An Giang Province to Cambodia every day, double the volume in previous years, local officials say.

Nguyen Van Thao, head of the province’s An Phu District’s Agriculture and Rural Development Department, says the growth follows an agreement between the two countries to exempt tariffs for 40 agricultural products.

The vegetables are grown to high hygiene and safety standards, Thao says.

The Mekong Delta province has become the first locality to export safe vegetable to the neighbouring country through the Khanh Binh border crossing.

The district has around 1,000ha for vegetables, yielding 20,000 tonnes per year. The productivity is yet to meet vegetable demand in the Cambodian market.

However, according to Thao, the export volume has recently dipped and prices of some kinds of vegetables dropped by 50 per cent. Chili was sold at VND30,000 per kilogram a few months ago, but after Tet (late January) the export price is VND10,000 per kilogram.

Thao says that this is due to the harvest of vegetables in Thailand.

Farming area in Thailand is not large as in the Meong Delta, and brisk exports will resume after the harvest season in Thailand ends, Thao says.

Despite the current lull, merchants at the Khanh Binh wholesale market say they receive orders from Cambodia worth billions of dong a day.

An Phu District authorities say they are now expanding the area for cultivating vegetables by 1,300ha to meet export demand. — VNS