Vietnam, Thailand to push bilateral trade to $25 bln by 2025

Vietnam and Thailand are seeking to boost two-way trade to $25 billion by 2025 from $21.2 billion last year, according to trade leaders from the two Southeast Asian countries.

"Thailand and Vietnam are close neighbors and have a strong relationship. The two countries have set a trade value target of $25 billion or 875 billion baht in 2025, a significant increase from $21.2 billion or 739 billion baht in 2022," the Bangkok Post quoted Thai Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit as saying at the trade fair “Vietnamese Week in Thailand 2023” from August 16-20 in Bangkok.

The trade fair, which is showcasing quality Vietnamese food items, is being hosted by Thailand’s leading conglomerate Central Group and its subsidiary Central Retail Vietnam in collaboration with Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The fair is themed “The Magical Taste of Vietnam”. Quality products that possess the unique identities of Vietnamese communities and products that are deemed to have the potential to sell in Thailand are being promoted at the event. About 100 exhibitors are taking part, bringing with them about 500 items such as fresh fruit, instant noodles, spices, tea and coffee, cakes, and snacks.

The event is having a positive effect on trade and allows hundreds of Vietnamese businesses to promote their products to the Thai market, said Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai.

Several Vietnamese businesses have successfully exported their products through Central Group’s distribution channels in Thailand and the Vietnam Week platform, including Mr. Viet (coffee), Bibica, Vifon, Trung Nguyen, Vinamit, Hai Binh (cashew nuts), Chinsu Foods, Dai Viet, and Viet Pepper.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade, in collaboration with Central Retail Vietnam, held a business-matching conference on Thursday on the sidelines of the trade fair to connect Vietnamese businesses with Central Group’s retail affiliates and Thai importers.

Also to help enhance bilateral trade, the Thailand-Vietnam Business Forum 2023 took place in Bangkok on August 15 under the theme "Strengthening Thai-Vietnamese Relations under the Concept 1+1 = Zero Boundary".

Addressing the forum, Sanan Angubolkul, chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (TCC) and Board of Trade, said that this year, the TCC has emphasized cooperation and relationships between young entrepreneurs and start-ups, the exchange of information and ideas on technology and innovations, as well as investment in start-ups between the two countries.

According to a report by the Thai Public Broadcasting Service (Thai PBS), he said that the two sides would strive to facilitate trade between Thailand and Vietnam and do away with trade barriers through supply chains, while boosting the grassroots economy, local entrepreneurs in Thailand’s northeast and Vietnam’s central and southern regions, and the green economy.

Sanan added that young entrepreneurs and start-ups will not just be the “heart and soul” of the economy in the future, but a vehicle which will carry the two countries towards change and new innovations, noting that the investment atmosphere is healthy with political stability.

Thanakrit Sermsuksan, TCC vice chairman and strategic chief of the Thai Start-up Association, said that partnerships between Thai and Vietnamese start-ups will strengthen the economies of the two countries and, in the future, ASEAN.

He claimed that Thailand is among the top countries regarding online purchases, in proportion with its population, and ranks second in the world for time spent on smart phones and mobile payment transactions, according to the Thai PBS report.

He added that ASEAN will become the world’s 4th largest market by 2040, and Thai traders will not need to go beyond ASEAN to sell their products.