Bright prospects ahead for Vietnam-Canada trade cooperation

Nguyen Thi Thu Trang, director of the Center for WTO and Integration Centre at the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), told Cong Thuong (Commer&Industry) newspaper said that Vietnamese exports into the North American country make up only 1.16% of their total imports. Likewise, Canadian exports to Vietnam account for a miniscule 0.34% of the country’s overall market share of imports.

Vietnam enjoys numerous advantages to introduce goods to the Canadian market as an increasing number of Vietnamese people are choosing to settle in Canada.

The country has several advantageous products which are in high demand among Canadian consumers, including mobile phones, wood furniture, textiles, shoes, tea, coffee, along with fruit and vegetables.

Many of these products have gone on to penetrate the demanding markets such as the EU, the United States, and Japan, therefore they can also meet the stringent requirements set by the Canadian market.

Moreover, Vietnam represents one of the few Asian countries to have signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Canada, meaning that its goods enjoy tariff advantages in comparison to other regional peers such as China and other ASEAN member states.

Amid the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continuing to impact global consumption demand, Vietnamese goods can gain an advantage in price compared to other competitors due to the signing of the CPTPP.

To gain entry to the North American market, Bui Tuan Hoan, head of the European-American Market Department, said Vietnamese enterprises must regularly update and stick to legal regulations regarding the Canadian market.

It is imperative to carefully study the Canadian market, especially niche markets, to allow local firms to gain greater insights into about the tastes and needs of consumers as Canadian customers are willing to sample new products providing that their prices are competitive, Hoan stated.

Experts also advised local enterprises to learn about ways in which to enter Canadian distribution channels, especially e-commerce channels that have been increasingly popular and have since become the mainstream shopping trend among consumers throughout North America.

Domestic enterprises were also urged to improve product quality and design in a bid to suit the market and develop branding for Vietnamese products.