Workshop promotes RoK’s investment in Vietnam’s food industry

Seoul (VNA) - A workshop to update enterprises from the Republic of Korea (RoK) on Vietnam’s investment environment and opportunities in the food processing industry was held in Seoul on August 22.

The event was hoped to further promote Vietnam-RoK trade and investment ties, within the context that the free trade agreement (FTA) signed between the two countries took effect in late 2015 and helped open a new development period for bilateral economic cooperation.

In his opening speech, Vu Ba Phu, General Director of the Department of Trade Promotion, under the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vu Ba Phu highlighted the great potential of developing the food industry in Vietnam, noting that the country holds one of the most promising food and beverage consumption markets in the region.

Abundant materials like rice, coffee, pepper, seafood, fruits, and vegetables give Vietnam an advantage for the development of the industry, he said.

Policies on tax incentives devised by the Vietnamese Government in recent times are also an attractive factor for investors, he added.

Participants to the event said that RoK enterprises could make use of materials in Vietnam combined with their technologies, in order to produce food for supply in Vietnam and other markets it has signed free trade agreements with, or even in the RoK.
Vietnam-RoK economic cooperation has recorded strong development across many fields in recent years, especially in terms of trade and investment.

The RoK is now the biggest foreign investor in Vietnam, regarding both the number of projects and investment total. The country remains the second largest trade partner of Vietnam with two-way trade hitting 61.78 billion USD in 2017. –VNA