A farmer harvests coffee beans in Vietnam (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNA) - Vietnam and Poland hold substantial potential for stepping uptrade, especially in agricultural products and food, via the optimisation ofincentives contained within the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA),experts said at an online workshop held in HCM City on April 22.
VietnameseAmbassador to Poland Nguyen Hung told the workshop that trade between the two countrieshas seen continuous growth over the years, even in 2020, despite COVID-19, itstill hit 15.5 percent.
Vietnamconsiders Poland among its top economic partners in Eastern Europe, while thelatter thinks of the former as its strategic partner in Southeast Asia.
Both boast advantagesin agriculture, and their products complement rather than compete against eachother, the diplomat noted.
WhilePoland produces and exports a large quantity of meat and milk products,Vietnam’s export strengths are in coffee, cashew nuts, and peppercorn. Notably,after the EVFTA came into force, these products enjoy many preferentialtariffs, creating even more favourable conditions for trade exchange.
PiotrHarasimowicz, Chief Representative Officer of the Polish Investment and TradeAgency in HCM City, said that following the pact’s entry into force, Polishimporters have increased their purchases of products from Vietnam to securequality supply sources at more competitive prices.
In additionto trade, Polish investors are also interested in telecom, finance, andtransport projects in Vietnam, he added.
NguyenThanh Hai, Vietnamese Trade Counsellor to Poland, told the workshop that tariffreductions under the EVFTA help boost the competitiveness of Vietnamese farmproduce such as rice, coffee, cashew nuts, and shrimp.
Heunderscored the export of fruit and juices to Poland as a promising endeavour forVietnam, as these products have recently posted good sales in the country.
When cooperatingwith their Polish peers, Vietnamese firms can make use of partnerships fortechnological transfer, particularly in food processing, which is a strength ofPoland.
Hoang XuanBinh, head of the Vietnamese entrepreneurs’ association in Poland, said morethan 30,000 Vietnamese live and work in the country.
He advisedVietnamese firms to study the Polish market via cooperating with companies orshopping malls run by Vietnamese expatriates in the country.
E-commerceis also a good tool for quickly approaching diverse sources of customers, he recommended./.
VNA
