Deepening organic agriculture trade and investment between Australia & Vietnam
Key organic foods – are promoted in Australia
Vietnamese organic foods in Australia are available on the Export Council of Australia Website
Organic Foods: Certification and Pathway to Market – Webinar on 3 May 2024
Australia Organic Study Tour from 17 to 26 March 2024
Reflection stories from Vietnamese participants during and after the Australia organic study tour
Training materials in organic agriculture and trade Binh Phuoc – Viet Ha Organic Agriculture Company
International conference in regenerative organic rice in Tram Chim National Park, Dong Thap
Export-ready training in HCM city
Export-ready training in Hanoi
Project Description [Mô tả dự án]
The purpose of the Grant is to deepen the organic agriculture trade relationship between Australian and Vietnamese businesses. The Grant is being provided as part of the Australia-Vietnam Enhanced Economic Engagement Grant (AVEG) Program Round Two. AVEG Round Two will advance Australia’s international economic interests through bilateral engagement on the Australian government’s trade and investment policy priorities. The objectives of the grant program are to:
- Support and build the capacity of Australian businesses to access the Vietnamese market and/or expand the two-way investment relationship;
- Enhance industry, institutional, and government-to-government links to build stronger trade and investment partnerships between Australia and Vietnam;
- Provide policy research and insights for businesses and governments to expand the bilateral trade and investment relationship.
The intended outcomes of the grant opportunity are to:
- Increase public awareness of Australia’s economic opportunities in Vietnam;
- Develop more high-quality partnerships across sectors in Australia and Vietnam;
- Increase Australian capacity to effectively engage with Vietnam in existing and emerging areas of mutual economic interest.
Overall, the grant program aims to assist Australia and Vietnam in meeting the policy objectives of the Enhanced Economic Engagement Strategy, which are to become mutual top ten trading partners and double two-way investment.
Mekong Organics role in the program is to deepen organic agriculture trade and investment between Australia and Vietnam, as follows:
- To provide export-ready training for both Australian and Vietnamese businesses;
- To host organic agriculture trade and investment forums in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to foster Australian and Vietnamese business partnerships;
- To host an organic study tour for Vietnamese business and organization partners to visit Australian organic food businesses;
- To undertake monitoring and evaluation and promote items 1-3.
The intended Activity Outcomes are:
- To harness the diversity of Australian and Vietnamese small and medium enterprises in the organic agriculture sector, including organic food, organic input (fertilizers, bio-products, and services, certification, and traceability), and increase industry and government links for more robust trade.
- To increase bilateral trade and investment by building and supporting the capacity of Australian and Vietnamese businesses to access respective organic food markets, including by providing export-ready training (delivered by the Export Council of Australia) to 30 Australian businesses and 60 Vietnamese businesses and hosting an in-person trade forum for business and government in Hanoi and HCMC;
Partners in the program include the Organic Agriculture Association (OAA) based in Gippsland, Australia; National Association of Sustainable Agriculture Australia (NASAA); Arrow Foods (Sydney), Obe Organics; Export Council of Australia (ECA), Regeneration International and Vietnamese partners: Green Coco, Viethaus, CCI-AGU, Tay Nguyen Ecological and Organic Cooperative, Center for Organic Agriculture, Vina Samex, Abavina JSC, Tan Dat Cooperative, Viet Ha Company, Minh Phu Mangrove Shrimp Social Enterprise, VOAA (Vietnam Organic Agriculture Association), PGS Vietnam – Participatory Guarantee System, The Forest and Farm Facility (FFF) of Vietnam Farmers’ Union, Ech Op Farm Company, Innovative Farmer Cooperative (IFC), Centre For Rural Development-SAEMAUL UNDONG, and Foodo.
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Activities in Progress
Materials on 15 SEP (Tài liệu tham khảo ngày 15/09/2023)
Vieo Clip on 15 SEP 2023.
Thư mời tham dự & Chương trình buổi ra mắt dự án (Tiếng Việt):
Letter of invitation and agenda to participate in the project Opening Ceremony
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Media Release No 01 (English):
Thông cáo báo chí số 01 (Tiếng Việt)
Project Team Members
DR. Van Kien Nguyen, Project Director
Ms. Melisa PHAM (Bao Tran Pham), project admin & business engagement
Mr. Van Thai Nguyen, project coordinator for the Australia Organic Study Tour
Mr. Alan Broughton, organic educator, and designer for the Australia Organic Study Tour
Mr Hoang Khang Nguyen, project coordinator for Vietnam
Communication team: Dr. Huu Tai PHAM, Mr. Minh Dang NGUYEN, Mr. Van Oc VO, Mr. Van Dai NGUYEN, Ms. Tran Lan Phuong PHAM
Project Evaluation Team: Dr. Thi Linh Nham TRAN, Dr. Thi Xa LE, Mr. Duc Truong NGUYEN, Mr. Minh Dang NGUYEN, and Mr. Van Dai NGUYEN
PROJECT REPORT
1/ Inception workshop on 15 SEP 2023
Project monitoring and evaluation report
Project website: Grant Award View – GA321132: GrantConnect (grants.gov.au)
PROJECT MEDIA COVERAGE
AVEG Round 2 – Mekong Organics – Media release/ coverage
Project: Deepening organic agriculture trade and investment between Australia & Vietnam (mekongorganics.com)
(1) Facebook – Landcare
Australian Tea Cultural Society
Tea for the sugar feast (mailerlite.io)
Hanoi Events from 18 to 21 Jan 2024
Bo Cong Thuong – Trade and Industry Ministry
Việt Nam và Úc đẩy mạnh hợp tác thương mại và đầu tư nông nghiệp hữu cơ (congthuong.vn)
VTC 16
Việt Nam – Australia tăng cường xúc tiến thương mại nông sản hữu cơ | VTC16 (youtube.com)
Vietnam Logistics Review
Việt Nam – Australia: Tăng cường thương mại và đầu tư nông nghiệp hữu cơ (vlr.vn)
VOAA
Undong Centre – USSH
Binh Phuoc Event
Tăng cường thương mại đầu tư nông nghiệp hữu cơ giữa Việt Nam và Australia (kinhtenongthon.vn)
Dong Thap – Ecological Rice Workshop Event
Phát triển lúa sinh thái kết hợp bảo tồn Sếu tại Vườn Quốc gia Tràm Chim (baodongthap.vn)
Key dates:
- Sep 15, 2023, Opening Ceremony (online) – DONE
- Nov 30, 2023, online-export-ready training for Australian organic businesses, co-delivered by the Export Council of Australia (ECA)
- Jan 15-16, 2024: Offline Export-ready training for Vietnamese organic businesses in the South of Vietnam co-hosted by Centre for Rural Development-SEAMAUL UNDONG, University of Social Science & Humanity-Vietnam National University HCM City.
- Jan 17, 2024: Australia – Vietnam Organic Agriculture and Trade Forum at Centre for Rural Development-SEAMAUL UNDONG, University of Social Science & Humanity-Vietnam National University HCM City. The event is open to Australian and Vietnamese businesses in organic agriculture and food.
- Jan 18 2024, field visit to Viet Ha Organic Agriculture Company Limited, a farm in Binh Phuoc province. The event opens for Australian and Vietnamese businesses in organic agriculture and food.
- Jan 18-19, 2024: Export-ready training for Vietnamese organic businesses in the North of Vietnam, co-hosted by the Vietnam Organic Agriculture Association (VOAA) in Hanoi, Vietnam
- Jan 20, 2024: Australia – Vietnam Organic Agriculture and Trade Forum at the Vietnam Organic Agriculture Association (VOAA) in Hanoi.
- Jan 21, 2024, field visit to Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) Thanh Xuan, Soc Son District, Ha Noi
- March 17-26, 2024: The Australia Organic Study Tour for Vietnamese businesses and organizations in Australia: Sydney – Canberra – Regional NSW – Bairndale – Melbourne VIC.