To export agri-food products to Europe, Vietnamese businesses must overcome three unprecedented challenges: CSRD, the EU Taxonomy, and the Farm to Fork strategy. These regulatory “clamps” demand transparency, green transition, and emission reductions—but also offer opportunities to reposition supply chains and increase export value.
According to ESG and LCA expert Pham Hoai Trung, these three elements form a powerful framework tightening sustainability requirements for agri-food exporters.
New Requirements Go Beyond Traditional Export Standards
CSRD is the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive. From 2024 to 2028, all companies generating €150 million or more in revenue within the EU or with a large subsidiary in the region must report ESG data under ESRS standards.
Importantly, CSRD requires companies to assess their entire value chain, including suppliers from third countries like Vietnam. These companies must also report their alignment with the EU Taxonomy.
The EU Taxonomy defines what qualifies as “green” activity, based on four strict conditions:
- Contribute substantially to at least one of six environmental goals
- Do no significant harm to other environmental objectives
- Comply with minimum social safeguards (ILO, OECD, UN)
- Meet detailed technical criteria defined by the European Commission
Only products meeting 100% of these criteria across production, processing, and distribution are considered “fully green”—a prerequisite for access to green finance, ESG funds, and continued participation in strategic EU supply chains.
However, the combination of CSRD and the EU Taxonomy creates a double burden for Vietnamese businesses. Even without a presence in the EU, they are indirectly but compulsorily affected via import partners.
To comply with CSRD, EU importers must gather detailed data from Vietnamese suppliers on:
- Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
- Carbon, water, and energy footprints
- Material sourcing and traceability
- Working conditions
If Vietnamese firms cannot provide verified and reliable data, they risk being replaced in the supply chain by more compliant suppliers.
Additional Pressure From The Farm To Fork Strategy
The EU’s Farm to Fork strategy—part of the Green Deal—seeks to fully transform its food system toward sustainability. By 2030, the EU aims to:
- Reduce pesticides and antibiotics by 50%
- Cut chemical fertilizers by 20%
- Make 25% of farmland organic
- Halve food waste
- Ensure full product traceability from farm to table
Crucially, these requirements apply not only to EU products but also to imported goods, including those from Vietnam. These are far stricter than traditional export standards known to Vietnamese exporters.
Investing In Green Transformation To Stay Ahead
According to Mr. Trung, failure to act promptly will mean losing market share, missing financial opportunities, and falling behind in global value chains.
Vietnamese businesses must:
- Proactively conduct LCA for key export products
- Quantify carbon, water, and energy footprints
- Standardize traceability using planting codes, digital farming logs, and tech tools
- Build basic ESG reporting systems
- Transition toward circular, organic, or regenerative agriculture
These steps require investment and technical capabilities. Firms can work with expert consultancies like Azitech or Green Go to access smart, cost-optimized LCA solutions with EU–Asia data integration.
In addition, businesses should:
- Develop multi-standard ESG reporting systems
- Join EU-supported green transition programs like SWITCH-Asia and LIFE Programme
- Propose building a national ESG–LCA database for the agri-sector
- Strengthen supply chain linkages between farmers, cooperatives, and exporters
Collaboration with EU partners to access green transition funds is a practical and strategic solution for Vietnamese exporters.
Source Vneconomy
