Vietnam enjoys numerous export opportunities to Indonesia

There are numerous opportunities for Vietnamese goods to be exported to the Indonesia market, especially farming, fisheries and food items, as the two countries have been fostering bilateral co-operation in many fields, most notably economic co-operation.

Photo for Illustration (Photo: Thai Thien).

The statement was made by experts at a May 8 workshop entitled ‘Assessing the Indonesian market in the period of ASEAN integration’, co-hosted by the Ho Chi Minh City Investment and Trade Promotion Centre (ITPC) and the Indonesian Consulate-General in HCM City.

Indonesia is the fifth largest consumer of fresh food in the world, and thus is a very sizeable market for agricultural, aquatic and food items in which Vietnam holds a comparative advantage, said Ho Xuan Lam, deputy director of the ITPC.

Commenting on the Indonesian market, Nguyen Anh Ngoc, vice president of the Vietnam-Indonesia Friendship Association in HCM City, noted that Vietnamese enterprises should take advantage of opportunities and invest in industries with bright prospects in Indonesia such as wholesale, retail, mining and industrial production.

The Indonesian government removed the import quota on 38 types of vegetables and fruits in 2013 to ensure domestic price stability, which has brought about huge opportunities for Vietnamese businesses to boost exports of these products to this market, Ngoc added.

At the workshop, Donna Gultom, Indonesia Trade Ministry director for ASEAN co-operation, provided Vietnamese enterprises with necessary information about export activities to Indonesia.

Foreign exporters to Indonesia need to ask for export permission and show certificates of origin and quality of goods, while having to use the Indonesian language when labeling drinks and food products, Gultom said.

Vietnam and Indonesia have enjoyed an annual increase of 25% in two-way trade in the past five years, with Vietnam’s export revenues to Indonesia hiking year by year, reaching US$1.43 billion in 2010, US$2.35 billion in 2011, US$2.45 billion in 2013 and US$2.89 billion in 2014.

Vietnam mainly exported telephones and telephone parts, iron, steel, machines, textiles, rice and coffee to Indonesia, while importing rubber items, mineral fuel, wood products, candies and cereals from this market, with its import revenues at US$2.49 billion in 2014.

(Source: nhandan.org.vn)