There have emerged plenty of opportunities for Vietnam to boost farm exports to the European Union (EU) since the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) took effect on August 1, 2020. But strict EU criteria on sustainable development in agriculture will expose Vietnamese exporters to risks. Small market share With 27 member countries and a total population of 516 million, the EU is a vast market for farm produce, not only for final consumption but also for use as input for export processing before finished products are shipped to the global market. Data from the EU’s statistics agency Eurostat showed that up to 70 countries are shipping farm produce to the EU, and Vietnam ranks 12th with a market share of only 2.2%. Although Vietnam sees the EU as the third biggest buyer of its farm produce, the above-mentioned data indicated that the country’s exports of farm produce to the EU remain modest in relation to Vietnam’s supply potential and the trade bloc’s demand. Impediments to EU-bound farm produce exports stem from Vietnam’s limited capacity to meet the EU’s requirements regarding quarantine, traceability, environmental protection, food safety, and packaging and transport standards. For example, under Directive 79/117/EEC issued by the European […]