HANOI, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam is promoting sustainable agricultural trade and production to reduce deforestation and land degradation, the Vietnam News reported on Thursday.

As Vietnam's economic growth heavily depends on the production and export of agroforestry products, the consumer-driven trend toward eco-friendly products in the world has forced the Southeast Asian country to either get ready for the shift or risk losing its market share, said experts at the fourth Global Conference of the Planet Network's Sustainable Food Systems Program held in Hanoi.

Vietnam is advised not to expand land area for agriculture development, instead, the country should focus on improving the quality and value of farming products as well as enhancing the livelihoods of farmers, said Tran Quang Bao, deputy director of the Vietnam Administration of Forestry under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Vietnam's major markets, including the European Union, have increasingly tightened the import of products linked to deforestation, requiring companies to produce a due diligence statement showing that their supply chains are not contributing to the destruction of forests before they sell goods into the bloc.

Commodities such as coffee, rubber and wood, will be greatly affected by such regulations, said Rui Ludovino, the first counselor for Climate Action, Environment, Employment, and Social Policies at the Delegation of the European Union in Vietnam, stressing the new rules are scheduled to take effect at the beginning of 2025 with a six-month delay for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Even though Vietnam is not at too high risk of deforestation due to sound forest protection policies, the country needs to strengthen supply chains to expand the market share of its agricultural products in the European Union, said Ludovino.

Vietnam has signed an agreement with the World Bank, investing up to 51.5 million U.S. dollars to reduce 10.3 million tons of carbon emissions from six northern-central provinces between 2020 and 2025.

It has also launched a project with a total budget of 5 million euros to protect 25,000 hectares of natural forest and reduce carbon emissions by 3 million tons in central highland provinces. Enditem

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