Vietnam-Brazil bilateral trade topped over US$3.17 billion in 2014. The country's import products include agricultural goods, raw material for footwear production and spices. — Photo thitruongtaichinh.vn

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Bilateral trade between Viet Nam and Brazil topped over US$3.17 billion in 2014, a 36 per cent year-on-year increase and exceeded the $3 billion mark for the first time, vietnamplus.vn reported.

The online newspaper quoted data from the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade as saying that during the period Viet Nam exported $1.58 billion worth of goods to Brazil, up 38.5 per cent year-on-year, with key exports including electronics, footwear, frozen fish fillets, and man-made fibre.

Meanwhile, its imports from the South American country recorded an annual surge of 33.6 per cent to more than $1.6 billion, including agricultural goods, raw material for footwear production and spices.

The surge in Viet Nam-Brazil bilateral trade was recorded despite the fact that Brazil experienced a year-on-year drop of 5.7 per cent to about $454.2 billion in foreign trade last year, the newspaper noted.

The Vietnamese Trade Office in Brazil predicts that bilateral trade between the two nations is likely to touch approximately $4 billion this year and exceed $5 billion in the next two or three years.

The office urged Vietnamese enterprises to immediately take full advantage of opportunities in Brazil, the world's seventh largest economy, with a population of more than 200 million.

According to them, top priority should be given to growing trade promotion and showcasing products at international trade fairs and exhibitions, especially at the Sao Paulo Economic Centre.

This will enable the companies to penetrate further into this lucrative market, establish partnerships and gain access to other markets in South America.

In 2013, two-way trade jumped 42.3 per cent year-on-year to a record $2.33 billion. This enabled Brazil to maintain its position as Viet Nam's largest Latin American trade partner. — VNS