Hoping Romanians enjoy Vietnamese fruits

TIN LIÊN QUAN
	“Vietnam: Peace, Integration and Development” published in Romania
	Vietnamese performers take stage at int’l folklore festival

Recently, the Romanian Embassy in Vietnam held an event to introduce traditional alcohol and fermented fruit juice from Romania. How do you expect Romania's products to reach Vietnamese consumers?

Ambassador Valeriu Arteni: On organising said event, I wanted to create an opportunity for one of the largest companies in traditional alcohol production to develop a market here in Vietnam. This is a well-known brand in the international market, with beverages made from fruits, produced and packaged in localities such as Constanta, Ploiesti, Radauti, among others.

During this event, a number of Vietnamese enterprises tried our products and provided positive comments and appreciation. All of these products are made from local fruits, including many kinds of wild fruit with very unique flavours.

We have apples, pears, apricots, plums and sour cherries, all of which are suitable for Vietnamese taste buds, as well as being affordable and easy to transport.

What do you think about Vietnamese fruit?

Vietnam has many types of wonderful produce and I hope Romanians will have a chance to experience them. Lychee, mango, pineapple – all have a great taste.

Romanian Ambassador to Vietnam Valeriu Arteni and his spouse.

Vietnamese fruits have a short shelf life and only have excellent sweetness and flavour when picked and enjoyed near the ripening stage. If you are thinking of exporting fruit, you need to consider organising transport to ensure the maximum freshness of the product.

Most Romanians aren’t aware of Vietnamese mangoes – which to me are the ‘queen of fruit’. Most of the mangoes imported to Romania are picked when they are still relatively green and when ripened, they will not taste good. If they are transported by plane, when the mangoes are almost ripe, Romanian consumers would be able to taste the great flavour and would really enjoy them.

A few years ago, you and other Ambassadors visited the lychee-growing area for export in Bac Giang. What do you think Romanian consumers would think about Vietnamese lychees?

Vietnamese lychees are really delicious. If you want to introduce lychees to Romania, the role of the Embassy of Vietnam in Bucharest is decisively important. Before the lychee season begins, you need to organise events to introduce and promote your products to the media in Romania.

When they are ripe, you have to transport them to Romania as quickly as possible and organise events so people have the chance to access the fresh fruit. Moreover, you have to work with distribution systems in Romania to include them in supermarkets.

Apart from export standards in the European market, transportation remains a big challenge for many Vietnamese agricultural exporters. What is your opinion on this issue?

As I said above, due to the short preservation time, Vietnamese fruits need to be transported by air. This will increase the price of the product. However, as far as I know, lychees are very affordable, so they will sell well in Romania since the price would not be higher than imported fruits from other countries.

For example, if lychees are sold for no more than 5 USD/kg in Romania, they will be successful. You may think that after deducting costs there will be little profit, but you will be able to sell a large amount of the produce.

What is your advice to our agricultural exporters?

I find that most Vietnamese fruits can be exported to Romania if they meet European export standards. I see that Vietnamese farmers are well aware of these conditions when they intend to bring their products to the European market.

In my opinion, you should be interested in exporting to Romania because when the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) is signed, ratified and implemented, some tariff barriers will be erased. We need to be prepared for that. Embassies and businesses need to study the market very carefully and be ready to take advantage of this opportunity.

At present, many localities in Vietnam have cooperated with localities in Romania, such as Lao Cai province with Hunedoara province, Da Nang city with Timisoara city, Ha Noi with Bucharest, Ben Tre province and Tulcea province. These are very good starting points. From here, localities can directly introduce their products to each other's market.

Thank you, Your Excellency!

Major opportunity for Vietnamese businesses to enter Romanian market The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) is expected to come into effect in 2018, offering a window of opportunity for broader trade cooperation between Vietnam ...

Vietnam’s images, potentials spotlighted in Romania Vietnam’s achievements in economy, politics and foreign affairs as well as the country’s beauty and people were featured through a photo exhibition and a seminar ...

Paintings on Vietnam’s beauty exhibited in Romania An exhibition featuring works by famed overseas Vietnamese artist Van Duong Thanh is being displayed at the National Village Museum located in Bucharest, Romania.