Vietnamese enterprises need to take advantage of tariff reductions under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) to increase exports to Australia.

Viet Nam and Australia are both members of CPTPP, which is believed to help promote bilateral trade, investment and cooperation (Photo: VNA)

Ms Nguyen Thi Thu Trang, Director of the WTO Integration Centre under the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), made the statement at a conference on “Australia’s market potential from the CPTPP perspectives” in Ha Noi on 12 April.

According to the centre, Australia is one of the 20 largest economies in the world, with outstanding potential in science and technology, mineral exploitation, high-quality services and agricultural products.

Australia is also a market with high purchasing power and stability. Viet Nam and Australia are both members of CPTPP, which will help promote trade and expand the scale of investment and cooperation between the two sides in the future.

Although each side had its own potential, strengths and a variety of commodities, the value of Viet Nam's exports to Australia was still modest, she said, adding that the main products shipped from Viet Nam to Australia were footwear and cashew nuts. Viet Nam could also strengthen cooperation with Australia by increasing imports, including technologies that Australia has advantages in as well as consultation services.

When exporting to Australia, Vietnamese enterprises needed to understand the market trend, consumer tastes and regulations on food safety and origins to meet the requirements of importers, said Ms Phung Thi Lan Phuong, head of the FTA Division of the WTO and Integration Centre of the VCCI.

It is worth noting that Australian is one of the most fastidious importers in the world, Phuong said. The room for exporting Vietnamese products is still vast but not for all types of products. Consumer numbers are also smaller than other traditional export markets, she noted.

Vietnamese enterprises needed to study carefully to penetrate the market by focusing on agricultural products such as dragon fruit, mango and key export products such as textiles, computers, wooden furniture and telephones, she said.

Ms Dinh Thi My Loan, Chairwoman of the Viet Nam Retailers Association, stressed the strong competition in the import and retail areas in Australia, while suggesting Vietnamese firms building long-term business strategies which focus on product introduction and branding, trust creation and relationships to approach Australia's retail system.

The quality of goods is still inadequate compared to competitors such as China, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.

In order to stand firm in the Australian market, Vietnamese enterprises must regard quality as the top priority rather than focusing on quantity and price, Loan said.

(Source: VNA)