The export potential of Vietnam’s agro-product in India

According to the Asia-Africa Market Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade), India has just issued the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2023. Accordingly, there are many good opportunities for Vietnamese enterprises to boost exports of agricultural and aquatic input products, machinery for agroproduction, fertilizers, chemicals, and many more to India.

India's Foreign Trade Policy 2023 will be associated with simplifying business operations through online document management, licensing and approval, reducing administrative procedures and cutting implementation costs of administrative procedures for businesses. India hopes to promote and facilitate business and trade activities, save time and money for businesses, and create favorable conditions for domestic production activities to realize the "Make in India" strategy.

India's Foreign Trade Policy 2023 has set an export target of USD 2 trillion by 2030, of which merchandise exports will reach USD 1 trillion and service exports will reach USD 1 trillion. The policy was announced on March 31, effective from April 1, 2023, the start of the fiscal year 2023 - 2024. Under this target, it is expected that the annual export growth of India will reach 10%.

In fact, by the end of the fiscal year 2022-2023 (April 2022 - March 2023), India's total import and export turnover of goods reached USD 1161 billion. In which, exports reached USD 447 billion, up 6% compared to the fiscal year 2021-2022. Imports reached USD 714 billion, up 16.5% compared to the fiscal year 2021-2022.

It is within expectations that India will continue to increase the import of raw materials for production activities in service of domestic consumption and export. India will continue to increase imports of several groups of items, including agricultural and aquatic products, spices, agricultural inputs, agricultural machinery and equipment.

This is a good opportunity for Vietnamese businesses that are interested and wish to promote exports to the Indian market, especially for those specializing in strength commodities such as agricultural products (coffee, pepper, cashews, cinnamon, star anise, ginger, turmeric, etc.), aquatic inputs, fertilizers, chemicals, agricultural machinery, and consumer products.

The Vietnam Trade Office in India also informed: From November 3-5, 2023 at Pragati Maidan Exhibition Center, New Delhi, India, the second World Food India Fair and Conference (World Food India - WFI 2023) will take place. The event is organized by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries in collaboration with the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (FICCI).

World Food India 2023 will receive the participation of major global companies as well as Indian companies from the fields of agricultural products, processed foods, science and technology application and other related businesses. The exhibition will be industry-focused, showcasing India's strengths in national pavilions, as well as state pavilions where Indian states will showcase their signature products.

India is the second largest producer of agro-products in the world and the third largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity. India's food market is expanding rapidly and has strong growth in the production and consumption sectors, added with attractive economic policies and financial incentives.

India is currently Vietnam’s eighth largest trading partner. Vietnam - India trade turnover accounts for approximately 80% of Vietnam's total turnover with other South Asian countries. Meanwhile, Vietnam is currently the twenty-third largest trading partner in the world and the fourth largest in the ASEAN region. In 2022, bilateral trade turnover between Vietnam and India reached USD 15 billion, the highest level ever.

In the first four months of 2023, Vietnam's total import-export turnover with India reached USD 4.9 billion, down 11% over the same period in 2022. In which, Vietnam's exports to India reached USD 2.7 billion, down 5% over the same period in the previous year.

However, Vietnam's export to India still looks promising. Vietnam’s strength products were able to achieve an increase in turnover over the same period last year, specifically: wood and wood products (reached USD 21 million, up 171%); footwear of all kinds (reached USD 73 million, up 20%); textiles and garments (reached USD 44.6 million, up 2.7%); rubber products (reached USD 5.2 million, up 21%); coffee (reached USD 27 million, up 73%); iron and steel of all kinds (reached USD 142 million, up 590%).