The Vietnam Trade Office in Australia is working to help Vietnamese longan exporters to obtain an import licence from the Australian Government as soon as possible.

The information was released at a Vietnam - Australia business connection conference held in Sydney last weekend, which gathered leaders of 7 Vietnamese localities – Tuyen Quang, Hai Duong, Quang Binh, Khanh Hoa, Dak Lak, Dong Thap, and Can Tho – and representatives from over 40 Australian firms, investment funds, and business associations.

 Nguyen Phu Hoa, head of the office, said following the Australian Department of Agriculture’s recent announcement of import requirements for fresh longan from Vietnam, his office has held discussions with Vietnamese localities that grow the fruit and businesses from both sides. 

 Vietnam has so far exported lychee, mango, and dragon fruit to the Australian market.

 According to Hoa, the office will support exporters of Vietnamese farm produce in completing related paperwork and liaison between agencies and businesses of the two countries, while carrying out a series of activities to promote Vietnamese longan in the Oceania country.

 The official unveiled that the office has built new plans to provide practical aid for Vietnam’s export, which include the establishment of a customer support hotline for consumers of Vietnamese products in Australia and a Vietnamese club that offers information to Australian firms.

 He also informed the conference that the SunRice Australia, which consumes 5 percent of Vietnam’s total rice exports, has completed its assistance plan for Vietnam under a sustainable rice production programme. The plan aims to help Vietnamese rice meet international standards, thus allowing the group to purchase more Japonica and Indica rice from Vietnam in the next 10 years.  

 At the conference, Tom Robb, CEO of The Robb Group, an Australian company that specialises in corporate and capital advisory services, said better-than-ever cooperation opportunities are opening up for Vietnamese and Australian enterprises. 

 Graham Kinder, Vice President of the Australia Vietnam Business Council, said strong collaboration has been recorded between localities of both nations across all fields from trade to culture and education.