The Vietnam-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (VJEPA) that tookeffect in October 2009 has significantly increased trade between the twocountries, a conference heard in HCM City on Nov. 23.
Tadashi Kikuchi, economic attache at the Japanese Consulate General inthe city, told the conference held to review two years of VJEPA that thetrade had expanded by more than 20 percent last year to 16.7 billionUSD.
It topped nearly 15 billion USD in the first nine months of this year.
With the reduction or elimination of tariffs on several Vietnamesegoods under the agreement, seafood, textile and garment, and vegetableexports have been robust.
The Vietnam Association ofSeafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said the tariff reduction hasimproved the competitiveness of Vietnamese products.
Truong Dinh Hoe, VASEP general secretary, said Japan is now Vietnam's largest buyer of frozen shrimp with imports of 397 million USD inthe first nine months.
Overall seafood exports were worth668 million USD, an increase of 4 percent over the same period lastyear, with tuna, cuttlefish, and octopus being the main items besidesfrozen shrimp.
Some other sectors like garment andtextile, footwear, fruit and vegetables, electrical products and cables,and wood products have also capitalised on the preferential tariffs topromote exports to Japan , Huynh Khanh Hiep, deputy director of theHCM City Department of Industry and Trade, said.
HCMCity 's garment and textile exports alone to Japan were worth 445.7million USD last year, a year-on-year increase of 6.2 percent.
They jumped 34 percent in the first three quarters of this year to 452.6 million USD, Hiep said.
Bui Huy Son, director of the Asia-Pacific Market Department, said theopportunities are huge under the trade agreement since Vietnamesetextile and garments as well as 23 out of 30 key agricultural, forestry,and seafood items enjoy tariff breaks.
But Hiep saidthere are difficulties in exporting, including a lack of understandingof the Japanese market and business culture.
ManyVietnamese firms, especially small- and medium-sized, do not reallyunderstand the Japanese market, and that is why they struggled despitebeing very successful in the US and EU, he explained.
The technical barriers against farm produce and seafood in Japan andstringent quality, hygiene, and safety requirements are also majorchallenges for them, he said.
To crack the market, he saidVietnamese firms, particularly shrimp exporters, should improve theirtechnologies to enhance quality.
Kikuchi said: "Vietnameseenterprises should establish long-term relationships with theirJapanese counterparts and understand their business culture."
They must research the Japanese market and customers' tastes to knowhow to pitch their products and services effectively, he said./.
Tadashi Kikuchi, economic attache at the Japanese Consulate General inthe city, told the conference held to review two years of VJEPA that thetrade had expanded by more than 20 percent last year to 16.7 billionUSD.
It topped nearly 15 billion USD in the first nine months of this year.
With the reduction or elimination of tariffs on several Vietnamesegoods under the agreement, seafood, textile and garment, and vegetableexports have been robust.
The Vietnam Association ofSeafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said the tariff reduction hasimproved the competitiveness of Vietnamese products.
Truong Dinh Hoe, VASEP general secretary, said Japan is now Vietnam's largest buyer of frozen shrimp with imports of 397 million USD inthe first nine months.
Overall seafood exports were worth668 million USD, an increase of 4 percent over the same period lastyear, with tuna, cuttlefish, and octopus being the main items besidesfrozen shrimp.
Some other sectors like garment andtextile, footwear, fruit and vegetables, electrical products and cables,and wood products have also capitalised on the preferential tariffs topromote exports to Japan , Huynh Khanh Hiep, deputy director of theHCM City Department of Industry and Trade, said.
HCMCity 's garment and textile exports alone to Japan were worth 445.7million USD last year, a year-on-year increase of 6.2 percent.
They jumped 34 percent in the first three quarters of this year to 452.6 million USD, Hiep said.
Bui Huy Son, director of the Asia-Pacific Market Department, said theopportunities are huge under the trade agreement since Vietnamesetextile and garments as well as 23 out of 30 key agricultural, forestry,and seafood items enjoy tariff breaks.
But Hiep saidthere are difficulties in exporting, including a lack of understandingof the Japanese market and business culture.
ManyVietnamese firms, especially small- and medium-sized, do not reallyunderstand the Japanese market, and that is why they struggled despitebeing very successful in the US and EU, he explained.
The technical barriers against farm produce and seafood in Japan andstringent quality, hygiene, and safety requirements are also majorchallenges for them, he said.
To crack the market, he saidVietnamese firms, particularly shrimp exporters, should improve theirtechnologies to enhance quality.
Kikuchi said: "Vietnameseenterprises should establish long-term relationships with theirJapanese counterparts and understand their business culture."
They must research the Japanese market and customers' tastes to knowhow to pitch their products and services effectively, he said./.
