Hanoi (VNA) – Australia and New Zealand have huge potential forVietnamese products like farm produce, aquatic products, coffee, cashew,computers, telephones and garments, said Nguyen Phuc Nam, deputy director ofthe Department of Asia-Pacific Market under the Ministry of Industry and Tradeat a conference held in Hanoi on July 28.

The ASEAN-Australia- New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA), which took effectfrom January 1, 2010, plays a key role in enhancing economic relations, tradeand investment between ASEAN and Australia and New Zealand, Nam said.

Within the agreement framework, ASEAN countries can enjoy 90 to 100 per centtariff reductions in Australian and New Zealand markets, and Vietnamese firmsshould take full advantage of this potential, he said.

He noted that Australia and New Zealand were among the biggest importers in theworld since both economies are largely dependent on imported products.

Vietnam’s chief exports to these two markets include agricultural products,seafood, coffee beans, cashews, electronics parts, textiles, footwear andconstruction material.

If the AANZFTA was utilized well, Vietnamese producers could enjoy all theprivileges contained therein, boosting export turnover and earning handsomeprofits, Nam said.

Statistics from the Ministry of Industry and Trade showed that trade betweenVietnam and Australia hit 5.26 billion USD in 2016, up 6.5 percentyear-on-year. Particularly, Vietnam enjoyed trade surplus of 480 million USDwith Australia in the year.

According to Phan Thi Dieu Linh, expert from the Department of Asia-PacificMarket, although Australian consumers are favoured of locals products, they arestill open with imported ones, which have high quality, good looking andrational prices. This factor also facilitates Vietnamese exports, sheunderlined.

Meanwhile, Trinh Thi Thu Hien from the Foreign Trade Agency under the Ministryof Industry and Trade, stated that there is large room for Vietnamese shipmentsto Australia as export revenue is still humble, standing at 1.6 percent oftotal export values in Australia.

Hiensaid that the AANZFTA is being carried out in the context of deeper regionaland global integration which supports the development in Vietnam-Australia andNew Zealand relations. Domestic businesses should apply international standardsto meet increasing demands of foreign customers and become more competitivewith foreign rivals, she highlighted.-VNA