Vietnamese Agri Trade Mission to Iowa

The Sun

2 days ago

OWA, US - Media OutReach Newswire - 3 June 2025 - A delegation of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment of Vietnam led by Minister Do Duc Duy began a trade mission to the United States, with the first stop being Iowa. Welcoming and working with the delegation, on the side of the Iowa Department of Agriculture were Secretary Mike Naig and Deputy Secretary Grant Menke.
At the meeting, Minister Do Duc Duy expressed his interests to lead a delegation consisting of Vietnamese government agencies, associations and agribusinesses to visit Iowa state, known as the 'Heart of Agriculture' in the United States. With a long history of farming system, Iowa is the leading corn production in the United States, with total output of 50 million tons of corn per year. Besides, the state is also home to many other agricultural commodities such as soybean, wheat, pork and beef.
'Vietnam has become one of the world's leading agricultural exporters, contributing positively to global food security. We are constantly expanding our processing capacity, improving quality for sustainable agricultural development in Vietnam. Therefore, Vietnam and the United States can completely complement each other, jointly develop bilateral, stable and long-term agricultural supply chains,' Minister Do Duc Duy affirmed.
At the meeting, the two sides jointly recognized and assessed the current status of agricultural trade cooperation between Vietnam and Iowa, and shared information, needs and potentials for business cooperation between the two sides. The discussion opened a substantive direction, promoting the export of high-quality agricultural products from Iowa to the Vietnamese market and vice versa.
Notably, the delegation of 50 Vietnamese agribusinesses accompanying Minister Do Duc Duy to the United States this time is expected to sign MoUs to purchase over 2 billion USD of agrifood products from the United States. Particularly for the state of Iowa, businesses and associations of the two sides have signed 5 MOUs with a total value of about 800 million USD over 3 years. Those are significant deals compared to 44 million USD of agricultural exports from Iowa to Vietnam in 2024.
Specifically, Vietnam's Khai Anh Binh Thuan Company signed an MoU to import one million tons of soybean meal, valued at approximately $380–390 million, from its partner Ag Processing Inc (AGP). The company also committed to purchasing 900,000 tons of corn and wheat from United Grain, valued at around $250 million.
Viet Nhat Nutrition Technology Company signed a contract with POET Group to import 100,000 tons of DDGS and 100,000 tons of soybean meal, with a total value estimated at 60–70 million USD.
Public–private partnership between the two countries also expanded through an MoU between the Department of Livestock Production and Animal Health (under Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and Environment) and the Iowa Pork Producers Association (IPPA). Under this agreement, both sides committed to strengthening trade ties and promoting collaboration between Vietnamese and Iowa pork industry by organizing technical seminars, market promotion and trade missions.
In addition, the meeting provided opportunities for many other Vietnamese and US businesses to connect, opening new avenues to enhance trade relations and strengthen the Vietnam–US agricultural supply chain linkages. These connections are expected to accelerate the transfer of advanced U.S. technologies to Vietnamese agribusinesses, paving the way toward green, smart, and sustainable agricultural development in Vietnam.
Minister Do Duc Duy expressed his confidence that today's event marks the beginning of a new phase of deeper and more effective cooperation between the Vietnamese business community and the state of Iowa. He emphasized that the outcome reflects the shared goodwill of both sides to advance the comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and the United States.