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A seafood production line in the southern province of Bac Lieu. — VNA/VNS Photo Vu Sinh
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HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Singapore is a strategic gateway for Vietnamese agricultural and seafood product exporters to make inroads into other markets, experts said at a trade exchange programme in Singapore on November 21.
Viet Nam earned US$2.93 billion from exporting products to Singapore in 2014, a yearly increase of 10.4 per cent, while importing $6.83 billion worth of goods in the period, a year-on-year rise of 20 per cent.
Deputy head of the industry and trade ministry's export-import department Tran Thanh Hai said rice, coffee, tea and vegetables, besides fruits, fine art and handicraft products were the strengths of Viet Nam in trade.
Meanwhile, Singapore had advantages in processing, packaging and increasing product values as well as management, marketing and broad relations with foreign partners, he said.
Hai said these were the strengths that Vietnamese enterprises must exploit and learn to improve their level, especially after joining the ASEAN Economic Community, and if Viet Nam wanted to access other markets via Singapore.
Nguyen Huu Thang, chairman of the Hanoi Trade Corporation (Hapro), which is one of the enterprises that will penetrate the Singapore market quite soon, said his company would continue to boost the exports to fastidious markets, as well as take the opportunity to find a way to expand into other markets through trade agreements such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the ASEAN Community.
Viet Nam's exports to Singapore increased by 30 per cent year on year to touch $3.1 billion in the first 10 months of 2015. — VNS