Vietnam-Latin America Trade Forum highlights cooperation opportunities
WVR/VNA - The trade and investment ties between Vietnam and Latin America have been continuously growing and expanding despite difficulties at times in the region's markets and the vast distance between the two regions.
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The trade and investment ties between Vietnam and Latin America have been continuously growing and expanding despite difficulties at times in the region's markets and the vast distance between the two regions, according to the Vietnam-Latin America Trade Forum in Ho Chi Minh City on September 14, 2023.
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| Participants at the forum (Photo: nongnghiep.vn). |
The Vietnam-Latin America Trade Forum took place within the Vietnam International Sourcing 2023 jointly held by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) and the municipal People’s Committee.
It provided updates on the economic and trade situation in Latin American nations and market developments, thus identifying opportunities and solutions to boost Vietnam’s exports to the region.
Ta Hoang Linh, Head of the MoIT’s Europe-America Market Department, noted that trade between Vietnam and Latin America almost doubled to 23 billion USD last year from 14.2 billion USD in 2018.
Notably, apart from traditional markets like Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, and Chile, Panama, Colombia, and Peru have emerged as bright spots in trade ties between Vietnam and the region, he stressed.
The region has imported Vietnamese garments-textiles, footwear, and agro-fishery products, while exporting materials to Vietnam, serving the Southeast Asian nation’s production, Linh added.
The official pointed to the economic reciprocity of Vietnam and Latin America as well as their capacity to engage in efforts to handle challenges relating to food security and energy, and to participate in the global supply chains that are being restructured.
However, the bilateral trade value has yet to match its potential, he said, stressing a string of challenges to their business cooperation such as the far geographical distance, the lack of direct transportation routes, high logistics costs, language barriers, and the limited access to market information.
The participating Latin American businesses spoke of ways to help Vietnamese enterprises identify export items for each market, satisfy set standards, and approach Latin American retail groups.
(Source: WVR/VNA)
