The Ministry of Industry and Trade will host a teleconference for trade promotion in support industries between Vietnam and Japan on July 7, attracting about 30 – 40 enterprises from both countries.

Held following the success of a similar event on consumer goods last week, the online trade exchange conference aims to introduce more Vietnamese products to partners in Japan and help them gain a broader access to the Eastern Asian market.

Vu Ba Phu, director of the ministry’s Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency, said Japan is Vietnam’s third largest trade partner, with the two-way trade reaching US$15.6 billion in the first five months of this year, up 2.2% against the same period last year, despite the impacts of the COVID-19.

Vietnam’s exports to Japan during the period stood at US$7.83 billion while imports totalled US$7.77 billion, he said.

Last month, Vietnam shipped to Japan the first batches of lychee, more than two tonnes, which were sold out in just a day.

Vietnam expects to export a total of 200 tonnes of lychee to Japan via air and sea this year.

Phu further noted that the two countries have huge untapped potential to boost trade as the structure of Vietnamese and Japanese goods is complementary and non-competitive, and both are now members of a number of free trade agreements, notably the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

Though the door to the Japanese market is wider than ever, Japan remains a demanding market with high requirements. So Masataka Fujita, Secretary General of the ASEAN – Japan Centre (AJC) urged Vietnamese producers and exporters to strictly comply with Japan’s regulations on imported goods.