Ho Chi Minh City (VNA) – The Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) on March 19 led a delegation of 28 Australian agriculture and food enterprises to Ho Chi Minh City to attend a Vietnam-Australia trade and investment forum.
The event formed part of the Australia–Southeast Asia Business Exchange (A-SEABX), running from March 16–20. It marked one of the largest recent Australian agrifood business missions to Vietnam, reflecting growing interest among Australian firms in diversifying partnerships and expanding engagement with the Vietnamese market.
Sarah Hooper, Australian Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City, said bilateral relations have developed strongly since diplomatic ties were established in 1973. The upgrade to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in March 2024 represented a significant milestone, elevating cooperation to a new level.
Australia remains committed to building a positiive and sustainable relationship with Vietnam while strengthening economic connectivity through its Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040, she noted. In 2025, two-way trade reached approximately 23 billion AUD (16.18 billion USD), making each country the other’s 11th-largest trading partner.
Both nations also participate in major free trade agreements, including ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA), the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), enabling tariff preferences for more than 95% of goods.
In agriculture, Vietnam ranked as Australia’s seventh-largest market for agricultural, forestry and fisheries products, with turnover reaching 2.6 billion AUD (1.82 billion USD) in 2025. Active engagement by businesses from both countries has played a key role in driving bilateral trade growth.
Australian enterprises view Vietnam as one of Southeast Asia’s most dynamic economies, with a rapidly expanding middle class and rising demand for high-quality, safe and traceable food products. This creates opportunities for Australian exporters in meat, seafood, dairy, fruit and vegetables, wine and processed foods.
Vietnam, meanwhile, is modernising its agriculture and food industries towards higher value-added production, stronger standard compliance and climate adaptation, opening new avenues for cooperation in technology transfer, innovation and investment.
The transformation is driving demand for high-quality breeding stock, feed grains, advanced farm management practices, high-tech solutions and traceability systems, alongside investment opportunities in modern processing and value-added production facilities.
Emma McDonald, Austrade’s Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner to Vietnam, said the business delegation also met leading Vietnamese retailers and agribusinesses to better understand local supply chains, consumer trends and emerging market opportunities.
Internationally recognised for high-quality, safe and sustainable food systems supported by strict biosecurity and traceability frameworks, Australia is well positioned to serve as a strategic partner for Vietnam in upgrading agriculture-food value chains, she added.
Beyond premium food trade, both countries have significant potential to expand cooperation in technology transfer, innovation and investment to support Vietnam’s goals of high-value, standards-compliant and climate-resilient agricultural production.
The forum also featured specialised parallel sessions on food and beverages, seafood and animal feed, attracting enterprises, industry associations and agricultural experts from both countries, and offering practical insights into Vietnam’s regulatory environment, market trends and emerging investment models to further strengthen bilateral trade and investment cooperation./.
