Promoting trade through Vietnamese communities in India and Nepal

The Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade) and the Vietnamese Embassy in India held a virtual workshop on May 20 to discuss how to promote trade through the Vietnamese communities in India and Nepal.

A number of Vietnamese products promoted in India
A number of Vietnamese products promoted in India

This was the third time within a month that a workshop on the Indian market had been held by Vietrade in collaboration with the relevant parties, as India and Nepal are two large markets which Vietnamese enterprises have yet to fully tap into.

Le Hoang Tai, the agency’s deputy director, stated that in a new situation, diversifying markets and avoiding reliance on a single main market are key to sustainable development.

India has a population of nearly 1.4 billion people and is Vietnam’s tenth largest trading partner while Nepal, with which Vietnam’s trade remains limited, still has ample room for cooperation.

In order to access these two South Asian markets, one of the most important channels is through the Vietnamese business communities there.

Such communities can join forces with domestic enterprises so that Vietnamese goods can penetrate more deeply into India and Nepal.

In the past, Vietnam had always run a trade deficit with India, but Vietnam has recorded a surplus since 2018, with US$300 million reported in the first four months of 2020.

The Vietnamese goods with strong potential for export to India include dragon fruits, cashew nuts, catfish, pepper and other spices.