There is plenty of room for Vietnam and India to strengthen investment and trade ties in the future, said Bùi Trung Thướng, Trade CounseLlor at the Vietnamese Embassy in India.
Even though Vietnam and India have similar natural conditions, their products can be complementary, according to Thắng.
Vietnam can export farm produce, fresh fruits, processed foods and furniture to India while India businesses should tap into the Vietnamese market in other fields such as animal feed, pharmaceutical and chemicals.
Chairman of Indian Importers of Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IICCI) Atul Kumar Saxena said in recent years, IICCI and the Vietnamese Embassy in India had facilitated imports of agricultural products and processed food from Việt Nam.
Vietnam’s instant coffee, tra fish and dragon fruit has entered the Indian market since 2014 and are favoured by many customers, he said.
According to the chairman Vietnam’s dragon fruit is present at many shopping centres, restaurants and hotels and is also a favourite dessert at luxury weddings in India. Meanwhile, instant coffee is popularly sold on online websites.
Two-way trade during the 11 months of the year recorded a decline of 14.45 per cent to US$8.82 billion against the same period from last year, according to statistics released by the General Department of Vietnam Customs.
Of the total, Vietnam exported $4.76 billion worth of goods to India while spending $4.06 billion on imports from the market, resulting in a trade surplus of $700 million in the period.
During 11 months, only handsets and components witnessed a yearly positive growth of 6 per cent, with export revenue hitting $1.31 billion.
Computers, electronic products and components suffered a fall of 24.6 per cent to $804 million in exports, while shipments of machinery, equipment, tools and spare parts plummeted by 48 per cent to $374 million.
