Vietnamese goods of different kinds are now on sale in many markets and supermarkets in Myanmar.

Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Online quoted Vietnamese Trade Counselor to Myanmar Tran Phuoc Anh as saying that local consumers are looking for Vietnamese products which are better in quality and cheaper in price than those imported from China and Thailand.

It is a good chance for Vietnamese exporters as Myanmar, with a population of 60 million, imports a huge volume of goods (about 70 percent) for domestic consumption, he said.

Many Vietnamese businesses have already set up their representative offices and opened a number of retail shops in Myanmar, he added.

The national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines has increased the number of its flights from HCM City and Hanoi to Yangon to meet the growing demand of Vietnamese passengers to Myanmar .

However, he suggested that Vietnamese businesses carefully study market trends in Myanmar to develop suitable strategies.

According to Anh , Myanmar exported over 1.2 million tonnes of rice in 2012, and is expected to ship 5 million tonnes abroad by 2020. This will open up a good opportunity for Vietnamese businesses to export fertilizer and strains to this market.

He also proposed that Vietnamese investors focus on other potential areas such as tourism, food processing, consumer goods, and construction materials production.-VNA