APHIS opens Vietnam field office

The agency’s new field office in Hanoi, Vietnam was established to help expand America’s $2.5 billion-a-year agricultural export business to the Southeast Asian country.    The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has opened a new office in Hanoi, Vietnam, to help expand America’s $2.5 billion-a-year agricultural export business to the Southeast Asian country.
   The agency will also work with U.S. importers of Vietnamese agricultural products.
   “With this increase in trade comes increased pest and disease risk, and our in-country expertise will ensure the safest trade possible, while still providing greater options for U.S. consumers,” said Greg Ibach, USDA’s undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs, in a statement.
   The APHIS Hanoi office will work on technical matters with its Vietnamese counterparts involving the prevention of spreading animal and plant pests and species. “By doing so quickly and locally, APHIS can help keep trade moving and benefit the producers and economies of both countries,” the agency said.
   Vietnam is currently ranked as the 11th largest market for U.S. agricultural goods. “The expansion of USDA’s presence in Vietnam is a clear indication of this country’s importance as a U.S. trading partner,” said USDA Undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Ted McKinney.
   In addition, to APHIS’s office in Hanoi, USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service operates an office at Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City. The USDA operates a total of 29 overseas offices to facilitate U.S. agricultural trade.