Vietnam and Laos expect to increase two-way trade turnover to two billion USD in 2015 and five billion USD in 2020.

According to Tran Bao Giam, Trade Counsellor at the Vietnamese Embassy in Laos, Vietnam’s products currently account for 16.4 percent of Laos’ imports, mostly steel and iron, petrol, vehicles, machines and spare parts, coal and textiles.

Giam said that the biggest difficulties Vietnamese enterprises face entering the market is the small size of the Lao economy, poor transport infrastructure and an incomplete legal and policy foundation.

In addition, Vietnamese companies must do everything by themselves, from purchasing goods to transporting, delivering and marketing due to the lack of supporting services and weak transport connections.

In order to promote exports to Laos, Vietnamese businesses should diversify the range of products, and participate more in bidding for projects in the fields of infrastructure construction, industry, mining, agriculture-forestry and social development.

Moreover, businesses should boost links with Lao partners, particularly Vietnamese businesspeople in the country, and customise product packaging and labelling to suit Lao consumers’ taste.-VNA