Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Investment and Trade Promotion Centre (ITPC) Tran Phu Lu said Vietnam-Canada ties have made progress in recent decades. Vietnam is one of Canada’s important partners in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which gives Canadian products and services the opportunity to access the market of both Vietnam and ASEAN. Meanwhile, Vietnam has taken advantage of the preferential policies of the Agreement to increase exports to the US.
Canada is Vietnam’s third-largest trading partner in the Americas. Vietnam is Canada’s largest trading partner in ASEAN. In 2023, despite the global economic slowdown, the value of bilateral trade will reach 14 billion dollars.
According to the General Department of Customs of Vietnam, in the first six months of 2024, bilateral trade turnover exceeded 3.41 billion USD. Of the total, Vietnam earned 3 billion USD from exports to Canada of goods such as textiles and garments, machinery, equipment, wood products, aquatic products and cashew nuts. Meanwhile, wheat and soybeans were the main Canadian products exported to Vietnam.
The North American country is the 14th largest investor in Vietnam, with 247 projects valued at more than $4.82 billion.
To strengthen bilateral trade cooperation, ITPC has helped Vietnamese companies connect with Canadian importers and proposed measures to boost trade in areas such as agriculture, food and beverages, household goods, furniture, handicrafts and logistics services.
According to Dao Phuong Thuy, President of Vietnam-Canada Hub Solutions, the high bilateral trade exchange of aquatic products is due to the foundation of the strong ties between the two countries.
For his part, Zach Herbers, CEO of The Herbers Agency, expressed confidence that trade activities between Vietnam and Canada will see significant growth in the coming decade.
He explained that Vietnam is a market where important elements come together, such as its strategic geographic location, its young population, its competitive costs, its growing consumer market and its extensive connectivity through free trade agreements. In addition, both countries enjoy the benefits of the CPTPP, which offers tariff preferences for up to 98% of exported products.
To succeed in the Canadian market, Herbers recommended Vietnamese companies research consumer demand, competitors and pricing factors to ensure supply availability and create product differentiation.
In addition, firms can consider cooperating with local companies and digital trading platforms to increase their presence and reduce costs, he concluded.
