Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam and Brazil, boasting robust friendship and cooperation for years, are now leveraging the complementary strengths of their economies to elevate the bilateral relations to a new high.
As a founding member of BRICS, Brazil is Latin America's largest economy and ranked 10th globally as of 2023. The South American giant, rich in natural resources, is the world's second-largest agricultural producer, and stands as the third-largest mineral exporter worldwide.
According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Brazil has long been Vietnam’s leading trade partner in Latin America. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1989, two-way trade has shown impressive growth. Last year, trade revenue soared to a record of 7.87 billion USD, a year-on-year increase of 12.2%. Vietnam shipped 2.6 billion USD worth of products to Brazil, and imported 5.37 billion USD from the country, up 15%.
In the first five months of this year, the bilateral trade reached 3.33 billion USD, down 5% compared to the same period in 2024. Vietnam's exports to Brazil totaled 1.11 billion USD, while imports from Brazil stood at 2.2 billion USD, dropping 2.2% and 6.3%, respectively.
Vietnam's primary exports to Brazil include seafood, rubber, textiles, footwear, and iron and steel products. Meanwhile, it imports soybeans, wheat, corn, livestock feed and raw materials, and various types of cotton from the Latin American country.
On investment, Brazil ran seven projects worth 3.85 million USD in Vietnam as of October 2024, focused on manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, and professional scientific and technological activities.
The Vietnamese trade office in Brazil held that Brazil, a member of the Southern Common Market (Mercosur), is a highly promising market for Vietnamese exports such as garments, leather goods, handicrafts, and processed foods.
Besides, Brazil could become a bridge to facilitate Vietnamese goods’ access to Latin American markets as well as Mercosur, while Vietnam would help Brazil break into the expansive ASEAN market with over 650 million people and an even larger market of 800 million people under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
Bruno Romano, Commercial Director of GreenLife Solution, shared that Vietnam represents a potential market for Brazilian exports such as beef, poultry, and grains, and serves as a market that can supply raw materials for some Brazilian manufacturing sectors including frozen fruits, plastic pellets, and iron, and steel, and aluminum raw materials.
He said his company will attend the International Sourcing Expo 2025 in Vietnam in September to seek trading opportunities with Vietnamese partners.
Representatives from Vietnam's Vifon Group and Tan Nhat Huong Company underlined their interest and strategies in seeking new opportunities in the South American market, with Brazil standing out as the most promising due to its strong consumption, reasonable standard requirements, and significant room for development.
At a working session with several Brazilian officials, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien affirmed reaffirmed the substantial untapped potential in the Vietnam–Brazil cooperation.
Vietnam welcomes Brazil’s recognition of its market economy status, he stressed, suggesting technical teams from both sides continue working to complete necessary recognition procedures in the second quarter of this year.
Vietnam will initially open its market to Brazilian beef products and continue opening markets for products where Brazil has advantages and Vietnam has demand. In return, Vietnam requested Brazil to reciprocally open markets for its shrimp and tra and basa fish.
Besides, the two countries should enhance collaboration in the area of ethanol production where Brazil has considerable experience. Moreover, as Vietnam undergoes a strong energy transition, cooperation opportunities in this field are substantial in the coming period.
The Brazilian officials, for their parts, underscored that energy cooperation and economic – trade ties are among the areas both countries need to focus on, stating Brazilian enterprises are ready to explore opportunities and cooperate with Vietnamese partners in this fields.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva lifted the ban on tilapia imports and opened market to certain types of Vietnamese shrimp, aligning with international standards, an official said, adding Brazil will carry out technical assessments for Vietnamese tra and basa fish./.
