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The deadline to apply for USDA’s trade mission to Vietnam is just days away. June 4th is the deadline to apply for the September trade mission. Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs, Alexis Taylor says there are opportunities for more U.S. agricultural goods, and especially specialty crops.
“Products like cotton, dairy, dried distillers, grains for animal feed, fresh fruit, poultry, soybeans and tree nuts really were some of the leading categories. But I think there are increasingly some exciting opportunities as we also work on the market access side of the equation for our specialty crop producers. We’re also working on a priority of opening up the Vietnamese market to U.S. stone fruit, so things like peaches and nectarines,” Taylor said.
Taylor explained that during trade missions like the one to Vietnam, she meets with her government counterparts to work on trade policy issues and amplify challenges or new opportunities in that market.
“But the real focus is for those businesses as we set up those business-to-business meetings,” she said. “I think we will see a really great delegation from the United States, from the food and AG sector. And we’re excited and working hard to set up really qualified, reliable partners for them to meet with on the importer side.”
Though delegates will be in Vietnam, there will also be opportunities for meetings with ag leaders from other areas.
“We are also bringing in buyers from across the region. So, we will be in two cities. In Vietnam we are going to both Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, but we will bring in buyers from Burma or Myanmar, Cambodia and Thailand. So we’re not only tapping into the Vietnamese market, but really expanding our reach regionally as well for those businesses that join us,” said Taylor.
The trade mission is September 9th through the 13th. Applications are available through the USDA FAS website.
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Sabrina Halvorson
National Correspondent / AgNet Media, Inc.
Sabrina Halvorson is an award-winning journalist, broadcaster, and public speaker who specializes in agriculture. She primarily reports on legislative issues and hosts The AgNet News Hour and The AgNet Weekly podcast. Sabrina is a native of California’s agriculture-rich Central Valley.