Wheat tariff in Vietnam ending

ARLINGTON, VA — The Vietnam government is eliminating a 3% tariff on U.S. wheat on Dec. 30.

The U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) and the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) noted their appreciation for the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) and Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance in their work to end the tariff. In July it was initially reduced from 5% to 3%.

Vietnam imported more than 500,000 metric tons of U.S. hard red spring, soft white, hard red winter, and soft red winter wheat valued at $129 million, second in volume only to Australia.

Vietnam imports an average of about 4 million metric tons of wheat per year.

“U.S. wheat exports to Vietnam’s growing market are much slower so far this year because of short supplies and rising prices, so eliminating this tariff is very important for growers like me,” said Darren Padget, USW chairman and a soft white wheat grower from Grass Valley, Ore.