Businesses and the Vietnam Beekeepers Association are making every effort to expand export markets and maximize the benefits from free trade agreements (FTAs) Vietnam has signed.

According to President of the Vietnam Beekeepers Association Dinh Quyet Tam, Vietnam is home to nearly 40,000 beekeeping households and hundreds of honey processing and export businesses.

Up to 90 per cent of the country’s honey is for export and mostly goes to the US, so any developments in the US market will negatively affect Vietnam’s honey industry, Mr. Tam said.

Vietnamese honey has been gradually staking out a presence in the EU, Japan, and South Korea, which shows that it meets the strict regulations in these markets.

Vietnam exported 16 million liters of honey to the US last year, down from the 56 million liters exported annually in previous years. Exports to the EU and the UK, stood at 10.32 million liters in 2022.

In the first half of this year, Vietnam exported just 9 million liters to the US.

A key reason behind the sharp decline is a US anti-dumping decision. In November 2021, the US Department of Commerce (DOC) decided to apply the highest tariff rate, of over 400 per cent, on raw honey imported from Vietnam.

Such a rate caused honeys export to the US to almost cease between February and April 2022.

In April 2022, the DOC reduced the rate to 58.74 - 61.27 per cent, and while Vietnamese honey re-entered the market the volume has been modest since.

The Vietnam Beekeepers Association, relevant ministries and sectors, and local exporters have been working with US agencies to assess the losses as well as review the anti-dumping rate, with the aim of supporting Vietnam’s honey industry and ensuring all are equally treated in line with WTO regulations.