Viet Nam and Chile discussed expanding agricultural cooperation, improving market access, and removing technical barriers during a meeting on June 16. The issues were discussed during talks between Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Hoang Trung and Chilean Ambassador to Viet Nam Nasly Isabel Bernal Prado.
Stronger bilateral ties lay groundwork for deeper cooperation
At the meeting, Deputy Minister Hoang Trung congratulated Ambassador Nasly Isabel Bernal Prado on her appointment to Viet Nam and expressed confidence that she would continue contributing to stronger bilateral ties.
According to the Deputy Minister, Viet Nam–Chile relations have developed positively across multiple sectors in recent years. In particular, President Luong Cuong’s visit to Chile in 2024 created fresh momentum for bilateral cooperation, especially in trade, investment, and economic collaboration.
Chile is currently Viet Nam’s fourth-largest trading partner in Latin America, while Viet Nam is Chile’s largest trading partner in ASEAN. The two countries also maintain close coordination in multilateral forums and regional cooperation mechanisms, including APEC, ASEAN, and the Pacific Alliance.
In agriculture, Viet Nam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and Chile’s Ministry of Agriculture signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2024, providing an important framework for sector-specific cooperation. The Ministry’s Department of International Cooperation has been assigned to coordinate with Chilean counterparts to implement the agreed areas of cooperation.
Ambassador Nasly Isabel Bernal Prado noted that 2026 will mark the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Viet Nam and Chile.
She said the Viet Nam–Chile Free Trade Agreement, which took effect in 2014, together with both countries’ participation in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), has provided strong momentum for bilateral trade growth. Bilateral trade between the two countries maintained steady growth from 2010 to 2024, reaching approximately $2 billion.
The ambassador reaffirmed that Viet Nam remains one of Chile’s priority partners in the Asia-Pacific region and expressed Chile’s desire to further expand agricultural cooperation through existing cooperation mechanisms.
Removing barriers to expand agricultural market access
Deputy Minister Hoang Trung said market access for agricultural products remains one of the key areas of bilateral cooperation. Relevant agencies from both countries have regularly exchanged information, reviewed technical dossiers, and carried out necessary procedures to facilitate mutual market access for agricultural products.
To date, Viet Nam has approved 142 Chilean enterprises to export seafood and several other products to the Vietnamese market. For Chilean beef, pork, and poultry products, Vietnamese authorities are continuing to assess technical dossiers and compliance with regulatory requirements.
Deputy Minister Hoang Trung said the review process is being conducted based on food safety and biosafety requirements, ensuring both trade facilitation and compliance with import regulations.
Chile expressed hope for faster progress in the market access review process for meat products. According to Rosaura Campusano Alarcón, Chile’s Agricultural Attaché in Viet Nam, the two sides have completed agreement on quarantine certificate templates, and Chile has submitted full technical documentation for production facilities to support the evaluation and licensing process.
Chile expects to receive assessment results and a list of eligible facilities soon, paving the way for the first meat shipments to enter the Vietnamese market.
Toward a sustainable agricultural value chain
In addition to agricultural trade, both sides agreed to expand technical cooperation in livestock production and crop cultivation to enhance value addition and support sustainable agricultural development.
The Chilean side welcomed progress in Viet Nam’s review of import licensing for live buffalo and cattle from Chile, which are intended to help improve livestock genetic resources.
Regarding fruit market access, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment is directing relevant agencies to accelerate completion of technical requirements related to Chilean kiwifruit to move forward with the next steps. Deputy Minister Hoang Trung said that if coordination between the two sides continues effectively, market access for Chilean kiwifruit could make positive progress in the near future.
For cherries, both sides are continuing technical discussions to finalize conditions for exports by air.
Concluding the meeting, Deputy Minister Hoang Trung called on relevant agencies from both countries to strengthen information exchange, accelerate the resolution of outstanding technical issues, and enhance business linkages to better tap the agricultural cooperation potential between Viet Nam and Chile.
He affirmed that the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment will direct relevant units to work closely with Chile to advance market access procedures for products of mutual interest, helping boost bilateral agricultural trade and deepen cooperation between the two countries.
At a meeting with the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham) on May 21, leader of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment reaffirmed their commitment to working closely with the business community to refine policies, promote green investment, strengthen climate adaptation efforts, and advance the One Health approach in livestock production in support of sustainable development and deeper international integration.
Viet Nam is moving to strengthen oversight of growing areas, packing facilities and traceability systems as the country seeks to expand official exports of pomelos and limes to China, one of its largest agricultural markets.
On May 11 in Hanoi, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Vo Van Hung held talks with Ms. Naina Subberwal Batra, Chief Executive Officer of AVPN. The two sides discussed issues related to green agriculture development, climate change adaptation, digital transformation, support for cooperatives, and strengthening Viet Nam’s connections with regional sustainable development initiatives.
At a conference with industry associations on May 4 to discuss measures to boost agro-forestry-fishery exports in 2026, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Vo Van Hung stressed that achieving the sector’s growth targets requires a market-oriented approach, with enterprises and producers at the center, alongside stronger coordination and leadership by industry associations.
As Viet Nam’s fisheries sector approaches an output of nearly 10 million tonnes and export turnover exceeding $11.3 billion in 2025, a national conference has called for a fundamental shift toward a development model driven by science, technology and innovation. Mounting bottlenecks in logistics, seed supply, environmental management and the application of research have made technological advancement not just a policy choice, but a prerequisite for sustaining growth and improving competitiveness in global value chains.
