Business

Vietnam eyes opportunities in Chile as gateway to South American markets

In 2024, two-way trade reached nearly 1.8 billion USD, with Vietnam’s exports, mainly seafood, coffee, rice, and cement, accounting for 1.4 billion USD.

Experts provide information about investment and business opportunities in Chile and South America at the seminar. (Photo: VNA)
Experts provide information about investment and business opportunities in Chile and South America at the seminar. (Photo: VNA)

HCM City (VNA) – Chile and South America offer promising opportunities for Vietnamese businesses looking to expand investment and trade, particularly in green and digital economic sectors, heard a trade promotion seminar held in Ho Chi Minh City on April 22.

The event, jointly organised by the HCM City Investment and Trade Promotion Centre (ITPC) and Chile’s Export Promotion Bureau (ProChile), highlighted the potential of Chile as gateway to South American markets, including Brazil, Argentina, and Peru.

Speaking at the event, ITPC Deputy Director Ho Thi Quyen noted that amid deepening global economic integration, Vietnam, particularly HCM City, is focusing on market expansion, trade diversification, and attracting foreign investment.

The Vietnam–Chile Free Trade Agreement (VCFTA), which took effect in 2014, along with the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) have created a favourable legal framework for bilateral cooperation, Quyen said.

In 2024, two-way trade reached nearly 1.8 billion USD, with Vietnam’s exports, mainly seafood, coffee, rice, and cement, accounting for 1.4 billion USD.

ITPC Deputy Director Ho Thi Quyen speaks at the trade promotion seminar on April 22. (Photo: VNA)

ITPC Deputy Director Ho Thi Quyen speaks at the trade promotion seminar on April 22. (Photo: VNA)

Quyen highlighted Chile as a transparent and stable investment destination, noting that with HCM City’s export turnover to Chile estimated at 53.3 million USD in 2024, there remains ample room for growth and broader cooperation.

Meanwhile, Bui Hoang Yen, who is in charge of the Ministry of Industry and Trade's Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency's Southern Office, noted that while 40.9% of exports to Chile used VCFTA tariff preferences in 2023, the CPTPP usage remained low at just 6.3%. She called on Vietnamese businesses to improve logistics and invest in technology to overcome trade barriers.

ProChile representative Pablo Arancibia encouraged Vietnamese exporters to diversify products and stabilise supply chains, noting that Vietnam’s presence in major South American markets remains limited.

Chile is emerging as a strategic investment hub in South America, offering Vietnamese firms opportunities in seafood, wood processing, and clean energy. As both a trade gateway and strategic partner, it supports Vietnam's market expansion in a region with a 4 trillion-USD GDP. Regular trade promotion and market support are the key to unlocking this potential, he said./.

VNA
#Chile #South American markets #trade promotion seminar #Vietnam–Chile Free Trade Agreement #trade promotion #CPTPP Chile Vietnam
Follow VietnamPlus

Post-pandemic recovery

Related News

State President Luong Cuong at the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Peru. (Photo: VNA)

State President’s Chile, Peru trip a success: official

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son has affirmed the success of State President Luong Cuong’s attendance at the 2024 APEC Economic Leaders’ Week as well as his official visits to Chile and Peru.

Vietnamese State President Luong Cuong (R) and President of Chile Gabriel Boric Font (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam, Chile look to advance bilateral ties

Vietnamese State President Luong Cuong and President of Chile Gabriel Boric Font discussed measures to enhance the relationship between the two countries, making it more intensive, substantive, and pragmatic, towards advancing it to a higher level, during their talks in Santiago de Chile on November 11 morning (local time).

See more

At a supermarket in Ho Chi Minh City (Photo: VNA)

Ho Chi Minh City to pilot pork trading on Mercantile Exchange of Vietnam

Nguyen Nguyen Phuong, Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Industry and Trade, said listing pork on the MXV will finally give consumers and firms more stable prices, while slapping on stricter food safety rules and making it easier to track where the meat actually comes from. Farmers, meanwhile, stand to gain from more predictable margins and dodge fewer of the supply-demand imbalances that routinely distort prices.

Processing octopus for export to the Japanese market at Huy Nam Company in An Giang (Photo: VNA)

Squid, octopus exports pick up early in 2026

In terms of product structure, squid has emerged as the main growth driver. Export turnover of squid exceeded 64 million USD, rising nearly 30%, while octopus exports brought in more than 47 million USD, up over 16%. The development indicates that demand for squid products is recovering faster in the short term.

The world’s longest over-sea cable car to Hon Thom Island in the Phu Quoc special zone, An Giang province. (Photo: VNA)

An Giang steps up tourism development ahead of APEC 2027

Tourism in the province has recorded strong growth, affirming its position as one of the region’s leading destinations. Phu Quoc Island continues to attract the majority of international travellers, receiving more than 817,660 visitors, accounting for over 98.5% of total foreign arrivals to the province.

Import-export activities at Lach Huyen international port in Hai Phong (Photo: VNA)

Reducing risks, removing logistics bottlenecks amid Middle East volatility

According to Truong Xuan Trung, Trade Counsellor of Vietnam in the UAE, the Middle East serves not only as a consumption market but also as a key global transhipment hub, meaning instability in the region creates ripple effects across intercontinental transport networks. Shipping route adjustments and airspace restrictions have lengthened transit times, increased costs and disrupted delivery schedules, with some Vietnamese shipments forced to reroute or seek alternative markets.

Cargo is handled at container terminals No. 3 and No. 4 of Hai Phong International Gateway Port. (Photo: VNA)

Businesses seek “survival momentum” amid global geopolitical turbulence

This is an urgent move as the challenges of 2026 differ markedly from previous ones, shaped by overlapping external shocks ranging from geopolitical tensions disrupting supply chains to surging logistics and raw material costs, exchange-rate pressures, and increasingly complex tariff barriers in global markets.

At the 2025 trade connectivity week for mechanical, electrical and digital industries. (Photo: VNA)

Ho Chi Minh City gives boost to supporting industry firms

Supporting industry firms in Ho Chi Minh City are scrambling to embed themselves more deeply into both global and domestic supply chains, backed by a suite of local incentives that are speeding up their tech upgrades and market access.

Italy's national pavilion at the ongoing Food & Hospitality Vietnam 2026 exhibition at Ho Chi Minh City's Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre (SECC) draws visitors for hands-on experiences. (Photo: IVNA)

Italian food firms eye opportunities in Vietnam

Italy’s exports of food and beverages to Vietnam reached 105.1 million EUR in 2025, up 4% year-on-year, positioning the country among the leading EU suppliers to the Vietnamese market.

An overview of the working session (Photo: baoquangninh.vn)

Quang Ninh promotes all-round cooperation with Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region

Quang Ninh encourages Guangxi enterprises to invest in high-tech marine aquaculture and expand aquatic product exports in China. At the same time, the province aims to develop livestock farming in line with international standards and attract investment in deep-processing plants for agricultural products such as cinnamon, star anise and tea, linked with traceability systems at border gates.

Illustrative image (Source: VNA)

Vietnam becomes fastest growing market for Norwegian salmon in Southeast Asia

The Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC) reported at the “Norwegian seafood industry in Vietnam market 2026” event held in Ho Chi Minh City on March 25 that fresh Norwegian salmon exports to Vietnam jumped 16% in volume in the first two months of 2026 compared with a year earlier, while frozen salmon shipments surged about 37%.

At a petrol station (Photo: VNA)

Energy giants work hard to roll out E10 RON95 sale ahead of schedule

Petrolimex and PVOIL, are in a strong position to accelerate the transition toward cleaner fuels. These companies have been actively preparing infrastructure, upgrading blending systems, and coordinating supply chains to ensure the availability of E10 RON95 across their nationwide retail systems.

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Chi Dung visits Bosch Industrial in Stuttgart, Germany. (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam, Germany boost innovation, startup ecosystem connectivity

Deputy PM Nguyen Chi Dung highly valued CfE’s reputation and pioneering role in building Germany’s innovation-driven startup ecosystem, and called for stronger cooperation with NIC to support Vietnamese universities, research institutes and organisations in training and scientific research.