Binh Dinh (VNA)🌠 – Canada is seen as a potential export market and a gateway for Vietnamese enterprises to access the North American markets, said Ngo Van Tong, Director of the Department of Industry and Trade of the south central province of Binh Dinh.

Speaking at a trade promotion conference held on March 28 by the provincial People’s Committee and the Vietnamese Canadian Business Association (VCBA), Tong said that Binh Dinh’s exports to the North American markets reached 569 million USD, accounting for 96% of its export turnover to the American markets and 35.6% of its total export turnover. Since the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) came into force in Vietnam on January 14, 2019, Binh Dinh’s exports to Canada surged four-fold to more than 17.2 million USD in 2023 from 4.1 million USD in 2018. Last year, Binh Dinh's two-way trade turnover with Canada was estimated at 18.7 million USD with export turnover reaching 17.2 million USD. The province’s main exports to the Canadian market include seafood, refined wooden products, garments, and plastic products. Tong said that Vietnamese exports to Canada are still modest, and the market share is not commensurate with the potential. Moreover, geographical distance, high advertising costs, and high transport and logistics costs make it difficult for provincial enterprises to compete with those from countries in the American region. In addition, the markets of CPTPP countries, including Canada and North America, have sustainable development standards which pose difficulties to meet for Vietnamese businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises. The province's products also have to compete with those from Thailand, Indonesia, China, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. Tong said that to boost exports, trade promotion activities are needed. The province also needs to develop modern, highly connected infrastructure and build logistics centres to participate in regional and international logistics networks. It’s recommended to have policies to encourage the formation of key export production areas, creating a large-scale source of high-quality export goods that meet international standards. Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Pham Anh Tuan said the province wants to invite Canadian businesses to invest in five main areas, namely industry, tourism, high-tech agriculture, port and logistics services, and urban economy connected with urbanisation. He also highlighted priority for projects that apply modern and environmentally- friendly technologies, efficiently use resources, and manufacture competitive products. Nguyen Quang Trung, former Consul General of Vietnam in Vancouver, said that Vietnam plays an increasingly important role in Canada's trade diversification. A Canada trade mission led by Mary Ng, Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development has visited Vietnam to explore business opportunities in key fields such as agriculture, processed food, clean energy, clean technology, information and communication technology, and creative technology industries. In addition, Canada also wants to promote cooperation with other regions instead of only the US. In recent years, the provinces of British Columbia and Saskatchewan opened trade and investment offices in Ho Chi Minh City and a forestry innovation investment office in Binh Duong province. That trend is very suitable for Binh Dinh's investment promotion plan, especially when the province has many favourable infrastructure conditions such as seaports, airports, national highways, and industrial parks. These features present great trade potential to cooperate with Canada in education, labour, and tourism, Trung said./.