lateral trade between Viet Nam and Israel will likely reach some US$574.4 million by year-end, up 31 per cent year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.— File Photo

HA NOI (Biz Hub)— Bilateral trade between Viet Nam and Israel will likely reach some US$574.4 million by year-end, up 31 per cent year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Of the sum, Vietnamese exports would contribute $387.5 million, 39 per cent higher than last year, the Africa-West Asia, South Asia Markets Department, an agency of the ministry, reported.

Further, the General Customs Department's statistics revealed that the two-year trade topped $431 million over the past nine months, $291 million of which had come from Vietnamese exports, mainly mobile phones and components, as well as agricultural and consumer goods, which were up 34 per cent year-on-year.

During January-September, Viet Nam also imported more than $140 million of goods from the Israeli market, surging 36 per cent against last year's corresponding period.

Despite such encouraging trade results, Vietnamese enterprises have encountered several challenges in shipping goods to the Israeli market, such as increasing transport costs, high taxes imposed for imported products such as food stuffs, vegetables and fresh fruits, as well as milk.

The businesses, meanwhile, still lacked updated information about Israeli technical standards, as well as legal procedures for imported goods, the department said.

In order to deal with these issues, the department would continue organising trips for local firms to explore the market in Israel, as well as provide the two countries' businesses with the latest information about each others' markets.

Also, fostering trade promotion in Israel and encouraging two business communities to join trade fairs and exhibitions to be held in each country, seen as a move to seek new partnerships, would be included, it said.— VNS