World meat industry news

Belarus is reworking the logistics of its exports to Vietnam due to restrictions imposed by sanctions, and plans to use Russian ports and railways for this purpose, the Belarusian ambassador to Vietnam, Vladimir Borovikov has said.

Belarus has a Free Trade Agreement with Vietnam through its membership of the Eurasian Economic Union, with Vietnam having signed off what has become a successful FTA back in 2015.

“I don’t currently see any big obstacles to increasing trade and economic ties between Belarus and Vietnam, to their further development. All logistics arrangements are already being calibrated for the current conditions. We’re proceeding from Russian ports, while use of railway transport across the Trans-Siberian Railway with delivery through China is not being ruled out. Arrangements using local currencies have already been tested as a means of payment for goods and services,” Borovikov stated.

Belarus is developing two pilot projects in Vietnam. “We have two pilot projects, our MAZ Asia and the creation of a dairy business in Hung Yen province to produce dairy products using Belarusian technologies and from Belarusian raw materials,” Borovikov said.

“In addition, we can offer Vietnamese partners an expanded line of tractor equipment. Our new 65 horsepower Belarus-541 rice tractor has already been certified and has undergone testing in Vietnam. This model has already been tested in field conditions,” the Ambassador said.

Vietnam is also showing interest in setting up production of fire-fighting equipment and protective clothing for fire services using Belarusian technologies, but exports of food products have the greatest potential, he said.

“An all-out effort to get our dairy products access to Vietnam began in 2020, after going through all the stages of approval and certification of our products here. Belarusian dairy products are enjoying steady success. In general, exports of Belarusian food products are the most promising area for us. We are now working on certifying our meat, pork, and beef. I believe and hope that we’ll conclude this work this year, which will make it possible to export our meat to the Vietnamese market,” Borovikov said.