(NAFB) – After productive talks with the U.S. in 2021, the Vietnamese government eliminated a three percent U.S. wheat import tariff on December 30.

Earlier this month, the first shipment of U.S. wheat purchased without a tariff arrived at a Vietnam port. The shipment contained more than 68,300 metric tons of soft white and hard red spring wheat grown in the Pacific Northwest and Northern Plains. “With the import tariff reduced to zero, the Vietnamese buyer saved almost one million dollars on this vessel load of U.S. wheat,” says Robert Hanson, Agricultural Counselor with the Foreign Ag Service in Hanoi.

Vince Peterson, President of U.S. Wheat Associates, says, “The Foreign Agricultural Service worked hard to cut this barrier and level the playing field for American wheat in Vietnam.” Vietnam imports an average of about four million metric tons of wheat every year. Peterson says the demand for U.S. wheat in Vietnam will keep growing in the future.