‘Pakistan-Vietnam trade volume set to cross $1 billion mark’

KARACHI: Pakistan and Vietnam have been maintaining good business and trade relations as the trade volume between the two countries stood at $794 million in 2021, which is set to cross the level of $1 billion soon, head of Vietnam Trade Mission Nguyen Thi Diep Ha stated on Friday.

The trade between the two countries had improved despite hitting hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, she added while speaking to a meeting during her visit to Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI).

“A lot of potential and opportunities are available for improving Pakistan’s exports to Vietnam, which is less than 1 percent of Vietnam’s total imports,” she said.

Vietnam imports $1.7 billion worth leather, of which Pakistan’s export share is just 1.5 percent. Similarly, Vietnam imports pharmaceutical products of around $3.3 billion but Pakistan’s export share is 0.25 percent only, while the stainless-steel surgical products worth $638 million are also being imported by Vietnam but Pakistan’s export of them is hardly 0.18 percent, according to Ha.

She also asked the Karachi chamber to send a high-ranking business delegation to meet Vietnamese government officials and also leaders of business organisations to explore ways and means for promoting trade between the two countries. Ha urged the Pakistani business community to look into the possibility of sending sellers/buyers delegations to Vietnam for participation or visit to trade fairs and exhibitions.

“Our Vietnam trade office in Karachi has also been regularly participating in My Karachi International Exhibition and wishes to continue to participate in this event in future as well.”

She stated that despite being hit hard by Covid-19 pandemic and the GDP growth rate for the first time in the last 30 years going down by 2.58 percent in 2021, Vietnam’s economy had remained stable and its international trade in 2021 stood at $689 billion, of which goods worth nearly $400 billion were exported from Vietnam while the imports stood at around $300 billion, Ha stated.

The official informed that the inflow of foreign direct investment into Vietnam was $20 billion in 2021 and the major investor countries included South Korea, Malaysia, Japan, British Virgin Islands, United Kingdom and Taiwan who invested in energy, real estate, automotive and telecommunication sectors etc.

“Pakistani investors have also invested in Vietnam in textile, medical, and healthcare sectors with an investment size of $33 million and ranking Pakistan on 48th position, out of 149 countries/ territories investing in Vietnam.”

Earlier, KCCI president Mohammed Tariq Yousuf noted that Pakistan’s exports to Vietnam stood at $261.24 million in FY22 and imports from Vietnam grew to$577.93 million.

“Despite sizeable growth in exports and imports as compared to preceding year, the trade volume is still low, which needs to be enhanced as both countries have immense potential to fully exploit the trade and growth prospects.”

He further said Pakistan’s textile sector had also crossed exports’ $19 billion mark in FY22 in terms of exports, which is more than 60 percent of the country’s total exports of $32 billion, and had posted a growth of 25 percent compared to the last year.

He was of the view that Pakistan’s participation in Global Value Chains (GVC) is low despite a huge potential for growth. “Pakistan can learn from Vietnam’s knowledge and experience in creating GVC linkages in textile and other sectors so that a similar presence in the global production and supply networks like Vietnam could be established for boosting trade.”

KCCI president stated that small and medium enterprises in Pakistan had shown resilience despite economic issues, and they also offer a growth potential for Vietnam’s businesses to look into investment opportunities and joint ventures in sectors such as seafood, paper and board, pharmaceuticals, home appliances, denim, and surgical instruments.