Australian food exporters urged to foster trade promotion in Vietnam

Australian trade officials have been encouraging food exporters to accelerate trade promotion in Vietnam to take full advantages of the growing market.

Australian Associated Press (APP) quoted Janelle Casey, Australia’s acting senior trade commissioner for Vietnam as saying that the middle class with a higher disposable income was increasing in Vietnam and they were looking for quality and healthy food.

Vietnamese consumers in general were increasingly aware of health and wellness issues and were paying greater attention to the quality and safety of food. Thus, retailers and food outlets in Vietnam needed hi-quality international products to meet such rising demand.

Meanwhile, local restaurants and importers were keen to access more made-in Australia food and beverages as these products had a high quality reputation in Vietnam.

The latest statistics from the General Department of Customs, however, showed out that two-way trade between the two nations recorded a year-on-year decrease of 19% to US$4.93 billion in 2015.

Of the sum, Vietnam's exports to Australia reached US$2.91 billion, down 27.2% on-year while its imports from the market also saw a slight drop of 1.6% to US$2.02 billion.

Despite the export reduction, Vietnam still enjoyed a trade surplus of approximately US$900 million with the market.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade blamed the steep decline in Vietnam's exports to Australia on the significant drop in crude oil prices. Crude oil exports, which accounted for half of the Vietnam's export value to Australia in recent years, dropped by 69.4% year-on-year to US$567 million in 2015.

Last year, telephones and components for the first time crossed crude oil to become the Vietnam's largest export product to Australia with a turnover of US$579.8 million, surging 32.5% over same period last year.

Vietnam's other export items to Australia included computers, electronics and component, earning a turnover of US$217 million; footwear (US$177 million); seafood (US$171 million); and wood and wooden goods (US$157 million), in addition to textile and garment (US$142 million); machine and equipment (US$141 million) and cashew nuts (US$117 million).

Meanwhile, the country mainly imported metal with a turnover of US$387 million; wheat (US$312 million); coal (US$127 million); and cotton (US$87 million); in addition to iron and steel scrap (US$77 million); machinery, equipment (US$74 million) and garment and footwear production (US$38 million) from Australia.