November 19, 2025 | 20:48 GMT +7
Hotline: 0913.378.918
November 19, 2025 | 20:48 GMT +7
Hotline: 0913.378.918
On November 18, Minister of Agriculture and Environment Tran Duc Thang held a bilateral meeting with Mr. Mike Naig, Secretary of Agriculture of the U.S. state of Iowa.
The meeting between the agricultural leaders of Vietnam and the U.S. state of Iowa. Photo: Kieu Chi.
At the meeting, Minister Tran Duc Thang recalled the working trip of Viet Nam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to Iowa in June 2025, during which the two sides signed five Memoranda of Understanding with a total value of about 800 million USD.
According to the Minister, these agreements were quickly put into implementation and have produced positive results, reflected in a significant increase in Viet Nam’s imports of U.S. agricultural products. This creates an important foundation for both sides to further expand cooperation. The Minister expressed the hope that Iowa would encourage its businesses to visit Viet Nam soon to explore investment opportunities, particularly in animal feed materials, breeding stock, and related supply chains.
Viet Nam always considers the U.S. an important partner and stands ready to provide a favorable investment environment for Iowa businesses, the Minister affirmed.
Minister Tran Duc Thang meets and discusses agricultural trade cooperation opportunities between Vietnam and the state of Iowa. Photo: Kieu Chi.
Regarding the reciprocal trade negotiations, the Minister said that Viet Nam and the U.S. are entering the final stage of discussions, in which they have achieved notable results on many agricultural products and may conclude the process as early as next month.
"We are continuing to urge businesses to implement the agreements and collaborations already signed with U.S. partners in general, and with companies in Iowa in particular", leader of MAE stated.
Minister Tran Duc Thang emphasized that overall Viet Nam - U.S. relations, and particularly ties between Vietnam and the state of Iowa, are developing positively. Iowa’s key products do not directly compete with Vietnamese goods, giving both sides ample room to expand trade. In the first 10 months of 2025, Viet Nam imported more than 1.23 billion USD worth of soybeans, animal feed, and feed ingredients from the U.S., including about 180 million USD from Iowa-based enterprises.
The Minister stated that Viet Nam is especially interested in increasing imports of high-quality corn, soybeans, and animal-feed ingredients from Iowa. He expressed hope that negotiations on tax and trade agreements would soon be completed to provide a favorable basis for business cooperation, and to encourage Iowa companies to participate in developing ethanol, biogas, and supporting circular agriculture projects in Viet Nam.
He praised the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment’s visit to the U.S. earlier this year, calling it a particularly important activity that helped advance the negotiation process and pave the way for strategic agreements between the two sides. Photo: Kieu Chi.
Minister Mike Naig affirmed that the state of Iowa consistently works closely with U.S. agricultural organizations and cooperatives to promote bilateral trade initiatives and implement capacity-building programs for Viet Nam’s agriculture and processing sectors. According to him, the Iowa government regards Viet Nam as a strategic partner in agricultural trade, especially in corn, soybeans, pork, and animal-feed ingredients.
He noted that Iowa holds distinct strengths in corn and soybean production, animal feed, and pork. The Iowa delegation visiting Viet Nam this time includes many representatives from the Iowa Farm Bureau, and producers of cattle, corn, and soybeans, as well as export companies. These are experts deeply involved in production practices and play a key role in shaping cooperation proposals and developing trade.
He emphasized that Iowa is always open to deeper cooperation between businesses of the two countries. Beyond trade, he highlighted additional potential areas such as animal feed and biotechnology. He pledged that Iowa stands ready to be a reliable partner of Viet Nam in jointly developing future cooperation programs, adding that U.S. agricultural, forestry, and fishery exports to Vietnam are expected to grow strongly.
Iowa has strong advantages in corn, soybeans, livestock production, and bioenergy, in which Vietnam is seeking deeper cooperation. Minister Tran Duc Thang would like to invite Iowa businesses to invest in agricultural processing, animal feed production, smart agriculture, and the development of high-tech livestock models in Viet Nam. Viet Nam offers a stable and transparent investment environment, along with the necessary support mechanisms for Iowa enterprises to operate effectively and sustainably.
The potential for cooperation to promote bilateral trade between the two countries in general, and with the state of Iowa in particular, is significant.
*Currency exchange: USD 1 = VND 26.386 - Source: Vietcombank, November 18, 2025.
Translated by Kieu Chi
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