Over the past decades, the Netherlands, which is the second largest agriculture exporter in the world, has seen its food related exports to Vietnam increase slowly. However, with a value of just below US$ 170 mln in 2019, the Netherlands only has a 1% market share of the Vietnamese food and food ingredient import market.
The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the EU and Vietnam, which came into action in 2020, should provide the perfect opportunity for Dutch companies to increase this market share, and to develop their exports to Vietnam. For a large range of food items, ranging from onions to cheese, import duties will be eliminated. In fact, 99% of all import tariffs for EU countries will be removed.
For example, the Vietnamese import market for onions and shallots had a value of US$ 300 million in 2019, of which 97% was supplied by China. While the Netherlands exports large volumes of onions to other Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia, hardly any Dutch onions are exported to Vietnam. With the lowering of the import duties on Dutch onions from 15% in 2019 to 0% in 2025, the Dutch onion sector should be able to build a significant market share in the Vietnamese import market for onions.
Source: agroberichtenbuitenland.nl