Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - In June, the Vietnam Trade Office in Pakistan mobilised and directly led a delegation of Pakistani businesses to participate in the 2024 International Supply Chain Connection event in Ho Chi Minh City.

As a direct result, Pakistan's IMTIAZ supermarket chain has just imported the first batch of Vietnamese fruit juice, including mango, pineapple, lychee, grape, apple and guava juices.

"Being distributed through IMTIAZ supermarkets is a source of pride for any product and it guarantees access to a vast consumer market of over 240 million people," said the Vietnam Trade Counselor in Pakistan.

Founded in 1955, IMTIAZ is Pakistan's pioneering supermarket chain and the largest retailer in the country, with 27 stores across 12 major cities, including Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar and Quetta.

The Vietnam Trade Counselor in Pakistan emphasised that exporting fruit juice to Pakistan is a proud achievement and significantly contributes to the development of Vietnam's export structure, by focusing on high-value-added processed products.

It also promotes the agro-processing industry and creates new market opportunities for agricultural products, helping avoid the 'bumper harvest but low price' scenario.

In the first seven months of 2024, Vietnamese exports to Pakistan reached 269 million USD, an increase of 25.2% year-on-year.

Vietnam's export potential to this market remains vast, as Pakistan has a high demand for many Vietnamese exports, from traditional agricultural products, including tea, pepper, cashews and pangasius fillets, to consumer goods like clothing and footwear, as well as high-tech products, such as mobile phones.

Moreover, Pakistan is an easy-to-access market, with less stringent requirements for quality, technical standards, animal and plant quarantine, food safety, environmental protection, traceability and labour practices.

However, opportunities always come with challenges.

Pakistan is a developing market where customers are highly price-sensitive, meaning that exported goods must be low-cost to meet demand, while the country's e-commerce sector is only in its infancy.

To promote Vietnamese goods into this market, the Vietnam Trade Office in Pakistan has regularly supported Pakistani businesses to attend fairs and exhibitions in Vietnam to seek partners and buyers.

In the future, to ensure continued positive growth in Vietnam-Pakistan trade cooperation, the Vietnam Trade Office recommended domestic exporters develop products that meet customer needs and thoroughly verify customer information to avoid potential trade risks./.