HCM City (VNA) –Vietnamese enterprises can find opportunities for exporting many commodities, fromconsumer goods to fishery, agricultural, and food products, to France, heard aseminar on post-pandemic chances for accessing the French market on June 15.

Nguyen Tuan, Deputy Directorof the Trade and Investment Promotion Centre of Ho Chi Minh City, said Franceis currently the fifth largest European trading partner of Vietnam, which hascontinually recorded a trade surplus with this market in recent years - over 1billion USD during 2013 - 2027 and still rising now.

Vietnam exports a wide rangeof commodities to France, and the EU - Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA),which took effect in August 2020, has created even more opportunities for shipmentsto France - one of the largest markets in the EU.

Though the COVID-19 pandemiccaused negative impacts on the global trade in 2021, bilateral trade still sawprogress, he noted.

Last year, Vietnam shippedabout 3.2 billion USD worth of goods to France. The figure was 1.1 billion USDin the first four months of 2022, up 10.3 percent year on year.

Meanwhile, France’s exportsto Vietnam approximated 1.6 billion USD in 2021, up 5.3 percent, and stood at450 million USD in the January - April this year, down 16 percent, according to theGeneral Department of Vietnam Customs.

Nguyen Hai Nam, Chairman ofthe Vietnamese Entrepreneurs’ Association in France, pointed out that as socio-economicand population changes have affected the agricultural and food consumptiontrend in the European country, Vietnamese firms can find opportunities forexporting fishery, fruit, confectionery, and cereal products.

He also highlighted theprospect of a bigger market share for such key exports as garment, footwear,rice, coffee, peppercorn, and fishery products, the demand for which is growing inFrance.

Apart from essential goods,France also has great demand for high-end products for high-income earners andtourists. This segment can generate considerable profits for Vietnameseexporters, Nam noted, adding that organic agricultural and fishery products willalso have more chances to increase their presence there.

Le Van Thanh Tra from theSource of Asia company advised businesses to review their capacity beforeaccessing new markets like France in the post-pandemic period, connect withwell-informed partners in those markets, and thoroughly learn about thebusiness culture in France.

Some companies experienced intrading with France recommended businesses maintain cooperative relations with theFrench side in order to guarantee durable cooperation./.