Consultation workshops held to boost export to Laos and Thailand

The hybrid event was held virtually on Zoom and livestreamed on Vietrade’s Facebook Fanpage.

At the event, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy, Deputy Director of the Export Promotion Center under Vietrade said that, Vietnam owns many favorable conditions for exporting goods to Thailand and Laos. 

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnam’s trade with Laos reached 708.2 million USD in the first five months of 2022, with Vietnam’s exports to the neighboring country declining 11.7 percent year-on-year to 247.2 million USD.

The import and export goods between the two countries are quite diverse. With eight pairs of international border gates, seven pairs of main gates and 18 others of auxiliary gates, Vietnam and Laos have favorable conditions to boost their trade ties.

Vietnam mainly shipped iron and steel, means of transport and accessories, machinery, equipment, tools, fertilizers, plastic products and vegetables to Laos. It imported ore and other minerals, fertiliser, wood and timber products, rubber, fruits and vegetables from the neighboring country.

Meanwhile, Thailand is the largest trade partner and export market of Vietnam in ASEAN, and also ranks ninth among the foreign investors in Vietnam which, in turn, is the second biggest trade partner of Thailand in the bloc.

Thai consumers are mostly in favor of aquatic products, vegetables, cashew nuts, coffee, pepper and fruits from Vietnam.

Despite the positive growth picture, representatives of the Vietnam Trade Office in Laos and Thailand both emphasized that expanding the market share of Vietnamese goods in these two markets is not easy.

Therefore, Vietnamese enterprises wishing to export goods to Thailand or Laos need to pay attention to the local factors, including culture, language, geography.