Idaho Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter says his state wants to promote trade with Vietnam.

The governor of US state Idaho called for further cooperation between his state and Vietnam, especially in agriculture.

C.L. “Butch” Otter, leading a four-day trade delegation made up of business people and officials from the Idaho Department of Agriculture and Commerce, said his state considered Vietnam an important export market for its agricultural products.

Agriculture accounts for about 25 percent of Idaho’s $51 billion-a-year economy, according to the governor.

Otter, an agriculture expert, said $11 million out of $4.7 billion of Idaho’s exports went to Vietnam last year, representing a 67 percent increase on the previous year.

Idaho’s agricultural exports to Vietnam increased 390 percent between 2005 and 2007.

The government emphasized that Vietnamese businesses import wood from Idaho and export furniture to the state.

Otter said it was possible Vietnam producers could ship fish and shrimp to Idaho in the future.

Donald A. Dietrich, director of the Idaho Department of Commerce, told Thanh Nien Daily that the state’s businesses were seeking further opportunities to export powdered milk to Vietnam. Idaho is the third-biggest milk producing state in the US.

The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Ho Chi Minh City and the Idaho Department of Commerce signed a memorandum of understanding Thursday to facilitate closer economic cooperation.

The Idaho delegation also met with HCMC government chairman Le Hoang Quan.

The governor will stay in HCMC to meet the US business community before ending his visit Sunday.

Reported by Minh Quang