Workers package rice for export. Vietnam is currently the biggest rice supplier for the Philippines. (Photo: VNA) The office noted the Philippines had a population of about 113million in 2023, ranking 13th in the world, seventh in Asia, andsecond in ASEAN. As dynamically developing economies in the region, Vietnam andthe Philippines share many similarities and also production complementarities,so there remains much room for them to expand economic and trade ties.
The country's domestic production is relatively limited, leading tohigh demand for imports, especially food products, and its import standards for goods and services are not too strict.
Thosefactors, together with the close proximity and similar consumption habits, means the Philippines is a high potential market for Vietnamese exports, theoffice said, noting that Vietnam is the 10th largest trading partnerof the Philippines.
Thirty-five products and groups of products from Vietnam arebeing sold in the Philippines, including farm produce, aquaticproducts, confectionery, animal feed, cement, steel, construction materials,textiles and garments, machinery, and equipment. Notably, farm produce, particularlyrice, have always accounted for a large proportion of the total exports.
Vietnam has continually posted a trade surplus with thePhilippines over the past years, the Trade Office went on.
Despite impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, bilateral trade topped7.8 billion USD in 2022, up 14.7% year on year. That consisted of over 5.1billion USD in Vietnam exports to and 2.7 billion USD in imports from thePhilippines, respectively rising 11.6% and 12.8%, according to the Asia -Africa Market Department of the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
In 2023, the trade revenue was equivalent to the 2022 figure, 7.8billion USD, comprising 5.15 billion USD in Vietnam’s exports and 2.65 billionUSD in imports, respectively increasing 1% and declining 2% year on year.
Riceis a staple export of Vietnam to the Philippines. Last year, the former shipped3.1 million tonnes of rice, down 2% from 2022, to the latter to earn 1.75 billionUSD, up 17.6%. The Vietnamese grain made up over 80% of the Philippines' riceimport volume, statistics show.
Meanwhile,Vietnam’s main imports from the archipelago country include computers,electronic devices, and components, machinery, equipment, tools, and spareparts, metals, electrical cables, aquatic products, automobilecomponents, confectionery, and animal feed.
Tofurther tap into this market, the Trade Office held that it is necessary tocontinue sustaining Vietnam’s status as the biggest rice supplier for thePhilippines while diversifying the export structure and raising the shipment value.
The Philippines is a high potential market, but Vietnamese businesseshave yet to pay due attention to it, the office said, pointing out thenecessity to step up communications to help companies realise its potential toboost exports./.
VNA
