This was discussed by over 150 business representatives from industry associations during the "Promoting trade relations between Vietnam and the Japanese and Korean Markets in the new situation" seminar, organized by the Ho Chi Minh City Center for International Integration Support in conjunction with the HCMC Investment and Trade Promotion Center on April 19.
During the seminar, Mr. Do Quoc Hung, Deputy Director of the Asia-Africa Market Department, shared that the Japanese market has a scale of $4.1 trillion, with an import demand of around $900 billion, but Vietnamese imports account for only 2.7 percent. Meanwhile, the South Korean market is valued at $1.73 trillion, with an import demand of around $731 billion, but imports from Vietnam only account for 3.3 percent.
Mr. Do Quoc Hung highlighted that textiles, footwear, agricultural, and aquatic products are the most promising products for export to these two markets. Vietnamese goods currently benefit from the tariff reduction roadmaps applied by these two countries. For instance, products such as durian, pepper, corn, coffee, and seafood (shrimp, squid, and octopus) are entitled to a zero percent export tax for the Japanese market, while for the Korean market, textile, footwear, fishmeal, fish cakes, and handicraft products are also subject to a zero percent export tax. Meanwhile, the same products from other countries in the region face tax rates ranging from 14 percent-36 percent.
On the other hand, many businesses are facing difficulties due to technical barriers in the Korean and Japanese markets. For instance, Korea has issued a list of approximately 300 pesticides allowed to use. The statistics indicate that Vietnam's export shipments, which violate technical barriers in these two markets, are on the rise. There were 106 cases in 2020, 135 in 2021, and 149 in 2022. The primary violations include goods containing harmful content exceeding the permitted level, unidentified additives being detected, and failure to comply with food safety conditions.
In response to these barriers, Mr. Do Quoc Hung stated that the Ministry of Industry and Trade is currently collaborating with the governments of other countries to recognize the list of pesticides in use in Vietnam and add the list of available export goods from Vietnam. Additionally, businesses must realize that there is no easy market, and producing according to the standards is the only way forward.
According to Mr. Keigo Yoshida, Senior Director in charge of the Product Department at Aeon Topvalu Vietnam Co., Ltd., Vietnamese enterprises need to understand the unique characteristics of the Japanese market in order to successfully enter it. This market constantly evolves and demands businesses to continuously improve and innovate their products. More importantly, while the price competition is extremely fierce, maintaining high product quality is paramount.
Similarly, Mr. Choi Kyu Chul, Vice President of the Korean Chamber of Industry and Trade in HCMC, emphasized the importance of Vietnamese industries to develop in an environmentally friendly direction to ensure that their goods meet the required standards for importation into Korea.
