Vietnamese-French relations on the right track of development

Two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and France have increased sharply in the first nine months of this year, earning more than EUR1.562 billion, up 19.03 percent against the same period last year.

The figure is expected to reach EUR1.99 billion late this year. According to Mr Pham Xuan Yen, trade counselor from the Vietnamese embassy in France said that in the first three quarters of the year, Vietnam’s export turnover in France has increased remarkably, earning EUR1.052 billion, up 11.53 percent against the same period last year.

The turnover of seafood exports is likely to increase by 34.24 percent compared to last year. This is a huge potential product for French market. Other key Vietnamese exports include footwear, garments and textiles (with a turnover of nearly EUR176,800 million in September, and up 3.2 percent and household utensils with EUR97,300 million, up 6.92 percent.

By 2011, the French economy will have recovered more, so the purchasing power of French consumers for these goods will be better.

However, Vietnamese businesses should improve their competitive edge so their products can win more market share in France compared to commodities from other nations, said Mr Yen.

In the first nine months of this year, Vietnam imported pharmaceutical equipment, machinery, electronics and chemical products from France worth more than EUR509 million, up 38.26 percent.

Import turnover began to increase sharply in late 2009 and the country’ s import turnover is expected to increase by more than 25.45 percent later this year with the major items being optical, medical and chemical products.

Mr Yen said that France has always a lot of attention to atomic power, and wanted to cooperate with Vietnam to undertake nuclear power projects in the country in future. – VOV

Tags: Vietnam France trade