Viet Nam, Mexico to boost agriculture and seafood co-operation

Viet Nam, Mexico to boost agriculture and seafood co-operation

Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) vice chairman Dao Duy Khuong said Viet Nam considers Mexico an important partner. Besides agriculture, the two sides could foster ties in tourism.

Saying Mexico was an open market, Khuong added that the country could act as a bridge for Vietnamese businesses to penetrate deeper into markets in North America thanks to the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

Meanwhile, Viet Nam was an effective gate for Mexican companies to work with enterprises in the ASEAN bloc, Khuong said.

The vice chairman suggested the establishment of a group which will be in charge of researching potential goods of the two countries so businesses can ship these products to each other's market to enhance bilateral trade.

For his part, Sergio Ley Lopez from the Mexican Business Council for Foreign Trade (COMCE) praised Viet Nam’s achievement in economic and human development, saying Viet Nam was a lucrative market for Mexican firms.

Currently, Mexico imports a lot of farm produce from Viet Nam, typically rice and coffee, he said, adding that 70 per cent of the rice sold in Mexico was imported from Viet Nam.

In the future, it was necessary for the two business communities to seek opportunities for new products that could be exported to each other, he said.

Mexico hoped to export beef products to Viet Nam in the near future, he said, emphasising the importance of developing a process for food quarantine.

The meeting also saw a co-operation agreement on trade and investment inked between VCCI and COMCE. The two sides hoped the agreement would facilitate bilateral trade and investment co-ordination between two business communities.

Mexico is Viet Nam’s second biggest trade partner in Latin America while Viet Nam is Mexico’s eighth largest partner in Asia-Pacific.

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