Hanoi (VNA) – Amid theCOVID-19 pandemic’s severe impacts on global supply chains, the ASEAN market inclose proximity with Vietnam is holding opportunities for the country’senterprises, an official has said.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is the fourth largest importerof Vietnamese goods, following the US, China, and the EU, Nguyen Phuc Nam,Deputy Director of the Asia - Africa Market Department under the Ministry ofIndustry and Trade, told an international workshop held both in person andvirtually on November 26.

Tradebetween Vietnam and nine other ASEAN countries fell slightly in 2020 due to thepandemic, by 6.8 percent year on year to 53.6 billion USD. Thanks to efforts toseize opportunities in the ASEAN market, the figure bounced back to reach 56.6billion USD in the first 10 months of 2021, up 30 percent from a year earlier.

With the close proximity withVietnam, trade with the ASEAN countries helps businesses save logistics costs andmore transportation choices such as by sea, road, or air.
Besides, consumption similarities canalso help Vietnamese goods enter and win over support in the ASEAN countries, Namsaid, adding that export to regional markets is the first step for commoditiesfrom Vietnam to enter others with stricter standards.

Most of goods traded with the ASEANcountries have benefited from preferential tariffs of zero percent under theASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement, or some more special treatment under the bilateraldeals Vietnam has signed with Laos and Cambodia.

In the time ahead, when the ASEAN countriesaccelerate measures for post-pandemic economic recovery such as market opening,supply chain ensuring, and trade facilitation, Vietnamese businesses will have optimal conditions to further tap into this market’s potential,according to the official.

Nam pointed out that many enterpriseshave not paid due attention to this market or grasped information about its members,particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out. Meanwhile, the ASEAN countriesare now in the recovery process and have great demand for imported goods.

Tran Thi Thanh My, Trade Counsellorof Vietnam in Thailand, said Thailand has eased export - import restrictions tofacilitate trade and resume supply chains to meet global goods and servicedemand. This is a great chance for Vietnamese exporters, she said.

Meanwhile, Singapore isinterested in food production cooperation so as to produce30 percent of its food needs by 2030. Therefore, agricultural businesses have many cooperation chancesin this field, according to Trade Counsellor in Singapore Tran Thu Quynh./.