Even though Việt Nam and India have similar natural conditions, their products can be complementary, according to Thắng. Việt Nam can export farm produce, fresh fruits, processed foods and furniture to India while India businesses should tap into the Vietnamese market in other fields such as animal feed, pharmaceutical and chemicals.

A wholesale dragon fruit market.

Chairman of Indian Importers of Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IICCI) Atul Kumar Saxena said in recent years, IICCI and the Vietnamese Embassy in India had facilitated imports of agricultural products and processed food from Việt Nam.

Việt Nam’s instant coffee, tra fish and dragon fruit has entered the Indian market since 2014 and are favoured by many customers, he said.

According to the chairman Việt Nam’s dragon fruit is present at many shopping centres, restaurants and hotels and is also a favourite dessert at luxury weddings in India. Meanwhile, instant coffee is popularly sold on online websites.

Two-way trade during the 11 months of the year recorded a decline of 14.45 per cent to US$8.82 billion against the same period from last year, according to statistics released by the General Department of Việt Nam Customs.

Of the total, Việt Nam exported $4.76 billion worth of goods to India while spending $4.06 billion on imports from the market, resulting in a trade surplus of $700 million in the period.

During 11 months, only handsets and components witnessed a yearly positive growth of 6 per cent, with export revenue hitting $1.31 billion.

Computers, electronic products and components suffered a fall of 24.6 per cent to $804 million in exports, while shipments of machinery, equipment, tools and spare parts plummeted by 48 per cent to $374 million.

In a bright spot, tea exports posted a sharp increase of 300 per cent to $4.96 million against the same period from last year, while the export of cashew nuts, confectioneries, and raw materials saw respective rises of 21 per cent, 32 per cent, and 23 per cent.

From January to November, Việt Nam imported iron and steel worth $1.06 billion, making up 25 per cent of the total import turnover of goods from the South Asian nation. The export turnover for November alone reached a sum of $86.56 million, representing an increase of 39.3 per cent from the previous month.

The country also spent $298.60 million on importing machinery, equipment, tools and spare parts throughout the reviewed period, a decline of 22 per cent year-on-year, while pharmaceutical and seafood imports saw an increase of 5.3 per cent and 21 per cent in comparison to the same period from the previous year.

Bilateral trade turnover between the two countries is anticipated to reach $10 billion by the end of the year, trade experts have predicted.

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Source: VNS