Viet Nam and Argentina have great potential to expand their lists of export items, Vietnamese Ambassador to Argentina Dang Xuan Dung told a conference in Buenos Aires on Tuesday.

Many advantaged export items of Viet Nam such as timber goods, textile and garment, footwear and coffee have successfully marked their presence in the US, Japan and the EU, Dung said, expressing his hope that the same would be replicated in Argentina.

He added bilateral trade between the two countries experienced a positive increase of 20 per cent annually from 2012 to 2016, after the two nations established a comprehensive partnership in 2010.

Sharing Dung’s view, president of the Chamber of Importers of Argentina (CIRA) Ruben Oscar Garcia affirmed the determination of the Argentinian government to open the local market and provide opportunities for domestic firms to expand trade with foreign partners, including those from Viet Nam.

Two-way trade between the two countries reached US$2.3 billion and $2.9 billion in 2015 and 2016, respectively. The trade saw a year-on-year rise of 15 per cent to $2.3 billion over past nine months of this year and is likely to hit $3.5 billion by the year-end, he said.

Viet Nam is currently Argentina’s sixth-largest trade partner with major export staples such as footwear, electronics, textile and garment, and agricultural machines, while Argentina is Viet Nam’s second largest supplier of foods and farm produce. — VNS