Under Secretary Taylor Hosts Vietnam’s Largest Agribusiness Trade Mission

From September 9-13, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service held a multi-city Agribusiness Trade Mission (ATM) in Vietnam. Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Alexis M. Taylor led one of the largest USDA trade missions, which included representatives from 33 U.S. businesses, 9 State Departments of Agriculture, and 23 USDA cooperators.

Several special events occurred in association with the ATM. In Ho Chi Minh City, MM Mega Market launched a nationwide retail promotion highlighting products grown and produced in the United States, which included a cooking demonstration that promoted U.S. chicken, California cheese, and U.S potatoes. A press event at ABC Bakery highlighted U.S. ingredients in its line of mooncakes for the Vietnamese Mid-Autumn Festival, including U.S. almonds, blueberries, cream cheese, and wheat. The ATM delegation also visited a Vietnam food processor, Dan On, and a soybean oil manufacturer, Janbee, to examine the trading relationship between the two countries.

Under Secretary Taylor met with officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Industry and Trade in Hanoi to discuss issues surrounding bilateral trade, including progress on market access issues for both countries. The ATM coincided with the first anniversary of the U.S.-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP).

The U.S. delegation toured the headquarters of Golden Gate and Klever Fruit, key Vietnamese food producers and retailers, respectively, to learn about the growing demand for American products and how the Vietnamese culinary landscape integrates these high-quality ingredients. The Great American Barbeque Festival overlapped with the USDA ATM in Vietnam. United Tastes held the festival in honor of the CSP anniversary. The festival included a robust buffet dinner menu that chefs from the Mosaico restaurant exclusively designed and prepared to showcase ingredients from across the United States.

The ATM generated 527 business-to-business meetings, which included buyers from Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam. The ATM and the Great American Barbeque Festival helped promote U.S. ingredients and facilitated opportunities to advance agricultural partnerships and trade opportunities. At the conclusion of the ATM, U.S. businesses reported $2.27 million in on-site sales and $31 million in projected 12-month sales.