Ho Chi Minh City seminar promotes Vietnam-Canada trade

ITPC Director Tran Phu Lu said that over the past 50 years, the Vietnam - Canada relationship has continuously developed and been enhanced in various fields. Vietnam is one of Canada's important partners in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which has opened up opportunities for the European country’s products and services to access the Vietnamese and ASEAN markets. Vietnam has effectively tapped this agreement to boost exports to Canada with many incentives, he added.

Despite being affected by the global economic recession, their two-way trade still reached 14 billion USD last year.

According to the General Department of Vietnam Customs, the total import-export turnover between Vietnam and Canada topped 3.41 billion USD in the first half of this year, with 3 billion USD from Vietnam's shipments. The main exports include textiles, machinery, equipment, wood and wood products, seafood and cashew nuts while Vietnam imports mainly wheat and soybean from Canada. Canada is also the 14th largest investor in Vietnam with more than 247 projects, with a total registered capital of more than 4.82 billion USD.

To promote bilateral trade cooperation between the two countries, ITPC regularly supports Vietnamese enterprises to connect with Canadian buyers and importers, Lu said. It also proposes solutions to promote trade for key export sectors such as agricultural products, food - beverages, wooden furniture - interior, household appliances, handicrafts, and logistics services.

Dao Phuong Thuy, President of Vietnam - Canada Hub Solutions, said seafood and wooden furniture are the two industries with the most effective bilateral trade between Vietnam and Canada recently.

According to Thuy, Vietnam - Canada seafood trade has achieved high value based on the foundation of enhanced bilateral cooperation. Vietnamese seafood enterprises have built brands and maximised value through processed seafood product lines as well as optimisation of the local distribution system.

Zach Herbers, managing director of The Herbers Agency, specialising in providing in-market support to help organisations successfully develop new opportunities in Vietnam, said trade between Canada and Vietnam is expected to grow year-on-year over the next decade.

To effectively exploit the Canadian market, he recommended that Vietnamese businesses need to study customer product needs, competitors, and pricing factors to ensure supply readiness and create differences for their products. They can also consider cooperating with local businesses and e-commerce platforms to increase their presence while still saving costs, he added.