The best Vietnamese organic products were showcased at an organic trade industry known as Biofach 2023 – the world's leading trade fair for organic food which took place in Nuremberg, Germany from February 14 to 17.

Ha Noi's businesses negotiate with partners at the fair.

Biofach is the organic food trade fair where industry professionals and exhibitors share their interests in organic food and exchange their respective views to mark a significant change in the industry. The fair attracted more than 2,000 booths from nearly 100 nations and territories including Vietnamese organic foods such as fresh and dry food, beverages, and pharmaceuticals.

Within the framework of Biofach 2023, the Vietnam Organic Agriculture Association (VOAA) and the Coordination Office of the New-Style Rural Development Programme in Ha Noi, in collaboration with the Trade Office of the Vietnamese Embassy in Germany conducted a meeting to trade and connect businesses with a theme “Organic Vietnam”.

Vietnam Organic Association, Coordination Office of the New-style Rural Development Programme and businesses exchange views with visitors.

Delivering a speech at the event, Le Quang Long, Consulate General of Vietnam in Frankfurt, said this was the second time the Consulate General attended the meeting and trade programme within the framework of Biofach Fair. Long highly appreciated the dynamism of Vietnamese businesses in developing organic products. Increasing productivity, quality and competitiveness to meet the increasing demand of consumers.

Also at the meeting, Do Viet Ha of the Vietnam Trade Office in Germany, shared views with businesses some information about the German market - the second largest organic market in the world. She said that European consumers, especially Germans, were very focused on healthy products, and the tendency to consume organic products was increasing.

Hanoi business delegation at the fair.

Ha noted that sales of organic food in Germany have increased significantly over the past decade, from 6.64 billion euros in 2011 to almost 15.9 billion euros in 2021. In Germany, 50 per cent of organic products were sold in retail supermarkets such as Edeka, Aldi, Lild, Netto, and Rewe.

Up to 32 per cent were sold at supermarkets specialising in organic products such as Bio Company, Alnatura, LPG Bio Markt, Denn's Bio Mark, Basic Bio, and Organic Grocery Store and the remaining 18 per cent were sold through other retail channels.

Representatives of the Vietnam Embassy in Germany and enterprises participate in Biofach 2023.

According to Tran Ngoc Thanh, Vice President of Vietnam Organic Agriculture Association, after three years of implementing the Organic Agriculture Project, up to now, Vietnamese organic agricultural production is developing strongly. The export turnover of organic agricultural products is over US$335 million per year and has been present in over 180 countries and territories.

Europe is the main import market for Vietnamese organic products. Thanh added that this was the 6th time in a row the Vietnam Organic Agriculture Association (VOAA) has been organised for Vietnamese businesses to attend the Biofach Fair with 10 booths displaying organic products. The fair was an opportunity for Vietnamese businesses to exchange business opportunities, find partners, and approach and penetrate the world organic food market.

Visitors at the fair. This year, Biofach attracts more than 2,000 booths from 100 countries and territories.

Vietnamese products on display at this year's Biofach Fair are quite diverse such as pepper, cashew, cinnamon, coffee, coconut rice, organic noodle soup, garlic chili sauce, and coconut oil, etc. international certifications such as JAS Control Union Certifications, Bio Trade, USDA Organic, For Life, and Global.

Vietnam has 10 businesses participating in Biofach 2023, among them Ha Noi has four enterprises – Visimex JSC, World Nutraceutical JSC, Vietnam anise production and export JSC, the Agricultural Development and Environmental Consulting Ltd. Company.

Representatives of Vietnamese businesses participating in Biofach 2023, among them Ha Noi has four enterprises.

Nguyen Van Chi, Deputy Chief of the Coordination Office of the New-style Rural Development Programme in Ha Noi, told participants that the B2B trading session took place very effectively with the participation of traders and buyers not only from Germany but from other countries including Peru, Turkey, the Netherlands, and Spain.

Nguyen Van Chi (second left) Deputy Chief of the Coordination Office of the New-style Rural Development Programme in Ha Noi and participants at the fair. Photos courtesy of the Coordination Office of the New-style Rural Development Program in Ha Noi

Ha Noi has connected with 100 businesses, supermarkets and customers in Germany. This is a promising opportunity for organic farm products of Ha Noi, bringing opportunities for the export of its agricultural products to Germany.

Over the past years, consumer demand for organic products in Germany in particular and Europe, in general, has decreased compared to previous years due to inflation, soaring energy prices, consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has also forced consumers to tighten their spending, reducing the purchase of organic products that cost more than conventional products.

However, this is only a temporary situation, the development of organic products is a strong development trend in the world.

The German government is very interested in the development of organic farming. In order to achieve the climate change goals of the Paris Agreement, Germany wants to limit  the use of pesticides in agriculture, so organic farming is at the heart of German agriculture's development. The German government has set a target that by 2030, the area of organic farming will account for 30 per cent of the total agricultural land.

With the development trend, the consumption of organic products combined with the advantages of the EVFTA, the potential and opportunities for Vietnam's organic agricultural products are expanding. Vietnamese businesses need to make the most of the opportunities, grasp consumption trends, regulations on food safety of importing countries, and requirements for international organic consumption certification. To improve product quality and expand export markets for Vietnamese organic products.