The free trade agreement between the Governments of Vietnam and Israel (VIFTA) if signed this year will open the door for many products and goods, including Vietnamese agricultural products to be exported to the Israeli market.

 The gateway to bring Vietnamese goods to the world 

Information from the Ministry of Industry and Trade said that, after 7 years with 12 negotiation sessions, on April 2, Mr. Nguyen Hong Dien, Minister of Industry and Trade, and Mr. Nir Barka, Minister of Economy and Industry of Israel, In the presence of the Governments of the two countries, they signed a joint statement on the conclusion of negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement between Vietnam and Israel (VIFTA).

 It is expected that this year, the two countries will sign VIFTA to celebrate the 30th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations. 

Israel ranks 4th out of 10 Vietnam’s tuna import market 

According to information from businesses, VIFTA will bring great export opportunities for Vietnamese goods. Ms. Nguyen Thi Diem Hang, Vice Chairwoman of the Vietnam Agricultural Enterprise Council (VCAC), said that VIFTA opens up huge trade opportunities for businesses of the two countries. In particular, the group of Vietnamese agricultural products not only has great opportunities in the Israeli market but also opens up cooperation with the potential Middle East region through the gateway of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

 “Israel is the gateway to the UAE. The UAE is the gateway to the world. Coming and touching the UAE means that Vietnamese agricultural products have the opportunity to go to the world. Big traders all come to the UAE, and Dubai, for big programs such as Gulfood, Expo to trade and import large quantities of goods to their country Besides, the Israeli market has not had too strict standards as the US, EU… The signed VIFTA will be an opportunity Association to bring Vietnamese goods and agricultural products into the Israeli market in particular and the Middle East in general,” Hang said. 

According to Truong Dinh Hoe, General Secretary of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), statistics show that Israel is in the top 22/100 of Vietnam’s seafood export markets. Export items include shrimp, frozen squid, canned tuna and pangasius… In which, 2022, tuna exports to Israel will reach 36.63 million USD. Israel ranks 4th out of the 10 largest tuna import markets of Vietnam, after the US, Canada and Japan.

 According to Mr. Hoe, in Israel, Vietnamese seafood products have had a stable foothold and are favored by this country’s consumers. The signed VIFTA will follow the same schedule as other free trade agreements, the tax will gradually decrease to 0% and this is the competitive advantage of Vietnamese seafood products compared to other countries that have not signed free trade agreements with Vietnam. Israel.

Focus on offering processed products

According to Mr. Le Thai Hoa, Commercial Counselor of Vietnam in Israel, Israel’s market size is modest with a population of nearly 9.7 million people, but economic activities and foreign trade are quite developed. In 2022, per capita income will reach nearly 55,000 USD; Foreign trade turnover reached 173 billion USD, of which export reached 67 billion USD and imports reached 106 billion USD. 

Besides, the two-way trade exchange between Vietnam and Israel is constantly increasing rapidly from 1.58 billion USD (in 2020) to 1.89 billion USD (in 2021) and reaching 2.23 billion USD in 2022. increased by 17.85% over the previous year. 

Israel is currently the 5th largest trading partner and the 3rd largest export market of Vietnam in the Middle East (after the UAE and Türkiye). In contrast, Vietnam is one of Israel’s largest trading partners in Southeast Asia.

 The structure of imports and exports between the two countries is complementary. The goods Israel needs to import are also export products with the strength of Vietnam and vice versa. 

Every year, Israel needs to import a variety of goods to meet domestic demand, mainly machinery, equipment, spare parts, raw materials, consumer goods, investment goods, and petroleum fuels. , a rough diamond…

 In the group of consumer goods, each year Israel spends 25 billion USD importing goods, including food, food, beverages, clothing, shoes, furniture, electronic goods, electrical equipment, household goods, medicine… 

According to Mr. Hoa, although this market size is modest, it has a large import demand, the consumption cycle in Israel is fast, reflected in the sharp increase in the import value of goods every year. 

In addition, due to consumption habits and habits, Israeli enterprises have a great need to import processed, high-value-added products, pre-packed with complete packaging, especially for imported goods. group of food products and consumer goods. Imported processed products put into distribution channels or retail supermarket chains for consumers can be used immediately after purchase. 

Mr. Hoa said that to well exploit the market as well as take advantage of the free trade agreement with Israel, Vietnamese manufacturing and exporting enterprises need to focus on offering processed products with added value. high, competitive price and consistent quality, pay.

Source: Thanh nien News