Brazil has established an Honorary Consulate in Vietnam as part of activities to tighten trade ties with the Southeast Asian nation.
Over the past 20 years, the two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and Brazil has grown considerably. In the first ten months of 2012, it jumped to nearly US$1.5 billion, representing a 121.7 percent increase compared to the same period last year, according to the General Statistics Office.
In October alone, Vietnam exported goods worth US$80.1 million to Brazil, raising its total turnover since early this year to US$587.9 million. Major exports to Brazil included footwear (US$213.2 million), seafood (US$57.6 million), machinery, equipment and components (US$46.2 million), and garments and textiles (US$31.8 million).
Vietnam imported US$97.4 million worth of Brazilian goods in October, raising its ten-month import turnover to US$909.6 million. Key import items included cattle feed and materials (US$142.1 million), cotton (US$116 million), and raw materials for garments, textiles, and footwear production (nearly US$50 million).
Despite the impact of the global financial crisis on its economic, Brazil’s trade exchange with Vietnam has remained stable.
In the first nine months of 2012, two-way trade turnover exceeded US$1.3 billion up 24.1 percent against the same period last year. Vietnam’s export turnover reached US$597 million (up 23 percent) - while its import turnover totaled US$709 million, (up 23.2 percent).
Statistics show two-way trade turnover grow from US$16 million in 1989 to US$42.9 million in 2002, then to over US$1 billion in 2010, and US$1.233 billion in 2011.
Brazil currently ranks 73rd among 92 nations and territories investing in Vietnam with a total investment capital of US$2.6 million (primarily in the field of rubber processing).
Footwear was the largest earner with revenue in the last ten months hitting US$213.2 million, or 36.8 percent of total export earnings from Brazil. Next came seafood products—(mostly tra and basa fish)— accounting for nearly 10 percent of the total.
Vietnam and Brazil have so far signed a number of agreements, laying a legal foundation for economic, trade, and investment cooperation to grow and flourish in the long run.
According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnam’s exports to Brazil remain modest considering the latter’s middle-income status and population of 192 million. Last year, Vietnam recorded a US$245 million trade surplus with Brazil, US$494 million in export turnover and US$245 million in imports. In the past ten months of 2012, Vietnam achieved US$321.7 million trade surplus.
The Vietnam’s trade office in Brazil has urged Vietnamese businesses to seek additional partners and claim a larger share of the lucrative market. The newly established Brazilian Honorary Consulate in Vietnam has proposed businesses of both countries regularly exchange information and find potential partners.
Experts are optimistic about the trade prospect between Vietnam and Brazil in the remaining months of the year. Bilateral trade turnover is predicted to reach US$2 billion
CPV/VOV
Vietnamese
