Connecting good exports between South Central Vietnam and Korea

Cooperation in exporting goods

On September 24, in Phan Rang – Thap Chàm City, the People's Committee of Ninh Thuan Province, in cooperation with the Vietnam – Korea Business and Investment Association (VKBIA), organized a trade connection conference for the export of goods between businesses in the South Central region and South Korean enterprises in 2024.

The conference saw the participation of 38 South Korean businesses and 54 businesses and cooperatives from the South Central region.

This event provided an opportunity for businesses from both sides to meet, connect directly for trade, and exchange ideas for investment collaboration. Additionally, it aims to promote cooperation in exporting goods from the South Central region to the South Korean market in the near future.

In his remarks, Mr Trinh Minh Hoang highlighted that the South Central region has a highly favourable geographical position for transportation, with railway, road, air, and maritime routes connecting to key economic areas both domestically and internationally.

Meanwhile, although Ninh Thuan Province is not large in natural area, it boasts diverse ecological and climatic regions, characterized by coastal, lowland, and mountainous areas. This, combined with its year-round warm weather, has enabled Ninh Thuan to produce many highly distinctive products such as grapes, apples, green asparagus, garlic, aloe vera, seafood, salt, seaweed, sheep, and goats...

Currently, the province has 182 products recognized as OCOP (One Commune One Product) with ratings of three stars or higher. These products have competitive advantages in the market, and Ninh Thuan Province is focusing on investing in and developing them through the agricultural value chain linked to tourism activities; enhancing production connections with consumption and export orientation.

"This conference serves as an important bridge, facilitating meetings between businesses from both sides to exchange information, seek partners, and sign contracts, contributing to the effective implementation of the government's and the Ministry of Industry and Trade's policies on regional connectivity, boosting export activities, and consuming goods in foreign markets", stated Mr. Trinh Minh Hoang.

Significant market potential

At the conference, Dr. Tran Hai Linh, Chairman of the Vietnam-Korea Business and Investment Association (VKBIA), noted that according to statistics from 2023, Vietnam is Korea's third-largest trading partner. The trade volume between the two countries reached $ 79.43 billion in 2023, with exports from Korea to Vietnam amounting to $ 53.49 billion and imports from Vietnam to Korea totalling $ 25.94 billion.

A notable highlight in the trade relations between Vietnam and South Korea is the complementary structure of their import and export goods, where the trade commodities of the two countries do not directly compete with each other.

Vietnam primarily imports from South Korea various types of chips, machinery and equipment, computers, electronic products and components, pharmaceuticals, dietary supplements, and cosmetics. Conversely, Vietnam's main exports to South Korea include textiles, various types of phones and components, agricultural products, and seafood...

This illustrates a high level of intertwined interests between South Korea and Vietnam, as well as the sharing of many common benefits, especially in the economic and trade sectors.

However, according to Dr Tran Hai Linh, despite Vietnam's relatively high agricultural export turnover, most of it consists of unprocessed agricultural products, and the variety of goods is still limited, failing to align with the tastes and needs of the "target markets." Vietnamese seafood products also have areas that need improvement for export.

As a result, Vietnamese businesses have yet to achieve high surplus revenue from the added value of their products. Furthermore, regulations in countries such as South Korea, Japan, Australia, the U.S., and Europe are very strict, particularly regarding technical barriers for agricultural products, seafood, and food, which are becoming increasingly tight and rigorous. This has somewhat impacted the export activities of Vietnamese businesses.

"The VKBIA is ready to continue accompanying Vietnamese and South Korean businesses to connect and support overcoming the difficulties and obstacles that we have encountered and are facing, in order to develop trade promotion and cooperation between Vietnam and South Korea in a more effective and practical manner", Dr. Tran Hai Linh stated.