Australia seen becoming huge market for Vietnam exporters

CAN THO – Australia will be a huge market for Vietnamese exporters in the years to come though shipments from Vietnam to this country remain limited, said Le Thanh Tung, general director of Tien Thinh International Migration and Investment Consulting Company, at a seminar in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho last Friday.

“Australia ranks 15th among Vietnam’s important trading partners. This is a market full of great potential in years to come, so Vietnamese companies should prop up their exports to the country,” he told the seminar on investment and trade promotion between the two countries.

He cited data of the Vietnam Trade Office in Australia, saying that Vietnam exported goods worth around US$480 million to this market in 2016, mostly farm produce. Tung said Vietnam’s agro-forestry-fisheries exports to Australia reached an estimated US$450 million a year between 2011 and 2016, a year-on-year rise of 8.3%.

However, products which posted strong growth lately included cameras and accessories (up a staggering 315.3%), iron and steel products (127.1%), material for textile, garment, leather and footwear (up 89.9%), computers, electronic products and their components (up 59.4%), and non-wood furniture products (up 47.1%).

He stressed the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement opens up opportunities for Vietnamese enterprises that want to make business deals with their Australian partners.

Tien Thinh International Migration and Investment Consulting Company has organized many seminars in Hanoi and HCMC, and has facilitated many companies and local governments to survey the Australian market.

He told the Daily that the company is willing to serve as a bridge between Australia’s state governments and Vietnamese companies who have achieved quality and reputation in production and business activities.

“I am optimistic about the consulting work to Vietnamese small and medium enterprises that have capability and prestige to help them become successful businesses in Australia,” he said.