Hanoi (VNA)﷽ – Two-way trade between Vietnam and India hit 3.47 billion USD in the eight months of this year, up 1.23 percent year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Vietnam Trade Office in India.

Of the figure, Vietnam exported 1.76 billion USD and imported 1.7 billion USD worth of goods, up 7.4 percent and down 4.4 percent, respectively. In August alone, Vietnam ran a trade surplus of 25.72 million USD with India, marking a 5 percent rise, raising the total to nearly 60 million USD since the beginning of this year. The country shipped tea, cashew nuts, metal, garment materials, leather, footwear, coffee and apparel to India. In August, the total garment export reached 7.22 million USD, increasing three-fold from July, bringing the total to 22.81 million USD in January-August. Several kinds of goods saw falling shipments, including coal, confectionary, cereals, plastic materials, phones and spare parts, down as much as 48.8 percent annually in eight months. Vietnam upped the imports of vegetables, gemstones, precious metal, computers and spare parts, papers, iron and steel products while decreasing the imports of animal and plant cooking oil, animal feed, and fertilisers. According to the office, the Vietnam-India strategic partnership has been increasingly growing since the ASEAN-India free trade agreement was signed. As one of the top 10 trade partners of Vietnam, India has invested in 87 projects worth 298 million USD in Vietnam, ranking 30 th out of 101 countries and territories investing in the country, mostly in manufacturing and mining. On the back of India’s Act East policy and Vietnam’s renovation process, India continues considering Vietnam an attractive destination in the fields of oil and gas, steel, mineral resources, tea, sugar, information technology training, and a goods transit point in Southeast Asia. In 2015, India organised trips for 25 business delegations to Vietnam to explore the market and seek opportunities. The Indian government has offered incentives in land and taxation for foreign investors. Apparel, engineering and farm produce are in the list of priority set by the two governments. In order to raise two-way trade to 15 billion USD by 2020, the ministry suggested encouraging firms to join exhibitions and fairs, as well as liaison with embassies and trade offices to seek cooperation opportunities.-VNA