USDA Leads Largest Vietnam Farm Trade Mission
A USDA-led agribusiness delegation of 43 U.S. businesses will travel to Ho Chi Minh City to pursue Vietnamese buyers and distributors.
Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Organic Food
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service will lead an agribusiness trade mission to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, from November 9 to 12, 2026, under Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Stephen Alexander Vaden. The delegation is the largest the service has sent to Vietnam in its history.
Why it matters
Vietnam was the seventh-largest export market for American agricultural and related products in 2025, and the mission aims to connect U.S. exporters directly with Vietnamese buyers, importers and distributors. Growing demand for U.S. cotton, soybeans and feed ingredients, along with rising food retail demand, makes the market a priority for American producers.
The mission includes 43 U.S. businesses and 37 agricultural trade and industry organizations, with representatives from California, Kansas and Wisconsin state departments of agriculture. Results from the meetings have not yet been reported.
The players
Stephen Alexander Vaden
Deputy Secretary of Agriculture who leads the trade mission delegation to Vietnam.
U.S. Department of Agriculture
The federal department whose Foreign Agricultural Service organizes overseas trade missions to expand export markets for American agricultural products.
The details
Participants will take part in business-to-business meetings, market briefings, site visits and promotional events in Ho Chi Minh City. The mission builds on an earlier TRUMP Mission to Vietnam held in March, and Vietnam's biofuels market and ethanol blending requirements are creating opportunities for U.S. corn growers and ethanol producers.
Timeline
March 2026: Earlier TRUMP Mission to Vietnam took place.
November 6, 2026: USDA announced the mission participants.
November 9-12, 2026: The agribusiness trade mission is held in Ho Chi Minh City.
Market Expansion
This mission follows the earlier TRUMP Mission to Vietnam held in March 2026 and extends U.S. efforts to deepen agricultural trade with a market that was already the seventh-largest U.S. agricultural export destination in 2025.
For shoppers, the mission signals continued growth in U.S. food and agricultural exports, which can affect product availability over time. Trade expansion of this kind typically develops over months and years rather than changing prices or shelves immediately.
The takeaway
Expanding agricultural trade with Vietnam creates new export channels for U.S. producers, and the mission's direct buyer meetings are the mechanism to watch. Readers interested in how these markets reach grocery shelves can follow the Organic Food section for ongoing coverage.
What happens next
The trade mission to Ho Chi Minh City runs November 9 to 12, 2026, and will feature business-to-business meetings and market briefings during that window.
Further reading
Explore more on Organic Food to see how global food and agricultural trade shapes what reaches store shelves.
More information
Learn more through the USDA agribusiness trade missions information page from the Foreign Agricultural Service.
