On October 24, in Seoul, Vietnamese business delegation in collaboration with the Department of Asia-Africa Markets of the Ministry of Industry & Trade and the Korea Importers Association (KOIMA) held the conference to promote trade and supporting Vietnamese goods in accessing Korean market, in which focused on agricultural and household products.
All parties in the conference stated the importance of Korean market for Vietnamese goods, as well as the opportunities for business cooperation between business communities of the two countries. The strategic partnership between Korean and Vietnam included many fields for cooperation, including economy, and in particular the Vietnam – Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which has come into force since December 20, 2015 are instrumental for the rapid growth of trade relationship between Vietnam and Korea. The two-way trade value in the first 9 months of 2017 reached 45 billion USD, up 52% compared to the same period of last year and is higher than the trade value for the whole 2016 of 43.4 billion USD, thanks to efforts of facilitating trade between the two business communities. Measures to support enterprises such as the frequently held conference on trade connection between enterprises from Vietnam and Korea, and transactions between enterprises are supported by administrative agencies.
This conference has witnessed the participation of 50 leading enterprises of KOIMA and suppliers in the distribution channels of Korea. Vietnamese goods such as processed agricultural products, household products were introduced to the Korean market at the event by 17 Vietnamese enterprises. According to Korean enterprises, Vietnamese goods are highly regarded due to the diversification with changes in design and packaging to meet the requirements of the market. At the same time, the product price is comparable with similar products of other countries in the region, such as Philippines, China, Indonesia and Thailand. This is one of the important factors to facilitate the infiltration of Vietnamese goods into Korean market in the coming time, in turn contributes to fulfil the two-way trade value target of 70 billion USD by 2020. As such, this will reduce the trade deficit and bring more agricultural products and fisheries of Vietnam to Korean market.
In 1992 when the two countries established the diplomatic relation, the two-way trade value between Vietnam and Korea was 500 million USD. By 2016, this number has increased to 43.4 billion USD, an increase of 87 times. Korea currently is the third largest trade partner of Vietnam after China and Korea, and also the leading investor in Vietnam. In the coming time, trade facilitation events will continue be implemented by the Ministry of Industry & Trade around the world, especially in Korea, with an aim to achieve the Prime Minister’s target for export strategy in the period of 2011 – 2020, with vision to 2030.
