Australia and Vietnam trade talks progress

Australia and Vietnam have announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Agriculture and Sustainable Development that will enable further cooperation across a range of areas including agricultural policy, sustainable fisheries and forestry management, biosecurity, food safety and trade. The MOU was formalised during Vietnamese General Secretary and President To Lam’s visit to Australia this week.

The visit also saw progress on Australia’s longstanding request to reinstate market access for Australian kangaroo and deer meat, which has involved the Australian Government, industry and Vietnamese authorities over the past nine years.

The Australian Government continues to work closely with industry to finalise administrative arrangements with Vietnamese authorities so that trade can commence as soon as possible in 2026.

This new agreement builds on recent market access achievements to Vietnam including the export of Australian blueberries in 2025, worth an estimated $22 million over 5 years, and Australian plums and honey in 2024.

“This agreement demonstrates the strength of our relationship with Vietnam, and it is wonderful to see cooperation like this also result in progress on longstanding market-access requests that will expand opportunities for Australian farmers and producers to showcase our world-class products on the international stage,” said Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Julie Collins MP.

Vietnam is Australia’s eighth largest market for agriculture, fisheries and forestry commodities, with Australian exports to Vietnam worth $2.6 billion in 2025.

Image credit: iStock.com/Oleksii Liskonih