On the afternoon of April 19, the Department of European and American Markets (Ministry of Industry and Trade) and the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce jointly organized an online seminar "Connecting trade between Vietnamese and Ukrainian businesses".

In recent times, due to the complicated military conflict in Ukraine, economic and investment relations with Ukraine have also been affected. The workshop took place to promote increased trade, seek opportunities to export Vietnam's key products to Ukraine such as agricultural products, garments, footwear, consumer goods, electronic components..., to compensate compensate for Ukraine's current shortage of goods.

The workshop had the participation of more than 50 Vietnamese businesses and 25 Ukrainian businesses operating in fields such as import-export consulting, furniture, agriculture, food, machine manufacturing, metallurgy, and industrialization. matter…

Speaking at the event, Deputy Director of the European-American Market Department Nguyen Khanh Ngoc commented that since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1992, bilateral cooperation in all areas has been strong. All fields are developing well, making an important contribution to the construction and economic development of Vietnam and Ukraine

In particular, trade and investment relations are always evaluated as potential fields. Currently, Vietnam's traditional products exported to Ukraine are still seafood, textiles, coffee, cashew nuts, components, and computers.

Regarding investment, up to now, Ukraine has invested about 30 million USD in Vietnam with 27 projects, ranking 69th out of 143 countries and territories investing in Vietnam.

In contrast, investment from Vietnam into Ukraine is mainly by Vietnamese people living in the region. Ms. Ngoc said she hopes Ukraine will create favorable conditions for Vietnamese businesses with investment capital in Ukraine to operate effectively, contributing to the economic development of the two countries.

In the current context, Ms. Ngoc said that there are still positive signs for businesses on both sides to work together to restore trade and investment, which the large number of businesses participating in today's conference is a testament.

According to Head of the Vietnam Trade Office in Ukraine Hoang Dinh Chai, Ukraine is trying to promote the signing of free trade agreements with many countries, signing agreements to implement practical measures to help economic activities. business of Ukraine. In particular, Ukraine finds that cooperation with Vietnam is especially good during the country's reconstruction period.

“Ukrainian businesses have been actively operating again after 4 months of pause. Currently, there are Ukrainian associations and businesses coming to Vietnam to promote and source goods. The trade office has also received information about interest in Vietnamese goods such as rice, food, fabric products for garments...", Mr. Hoang Dinh Chai said.

Assessing the potential for cooperation between the two countries, Vice President of the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (UCCI) Valery Korol expressed his desire to participate in upcoming international fairs and seminars related to economics and trade. took place in Vietnam to seek opportunities.

Potential areas of cooperation between the two countries in the current context

UCCI Vice President Valery Korol said that Ukraine wants to cooperate with Vietnam in agriculture, food, machinery manufacturing, chemicals, information technology...

Mr. Hoang Dinh Chai also commented that Ukrainian consumers have a habit of consuming Asian food, especially from China, Vietnam and Thailand. Meanwhile, Vietnam has strengths in exporting food such as seafood, rice, pepper, and cashew nuts.

"This will be an opportunity for Vietnamese businesses to approach Ukraine, especially in the context that Thailand and Korea are almost emptying this market due to transportation difficulties," Mr. Chai said.

Textiles, pharmaceuticals, and modern medicines are also considered areas of cooperation and complementarity between the two countries.

In addition, Ukrainian businesses are also interested in the fields of import-export consulting, legal consulting, logistics, wooden furniture, machine manufacturing, metallurgy...

In contrast, Vietnam imports a lot of iron and steel from Ukraine. However, in the current context, the above products are still seriously lacking.

In the investment sector, Ukrainian businesses are facing a lack of capital. Therefore, Vietnamese businesses can invest and jointly buy factories. This will be a good opportunity to invest, produce and export goods to Europe as Ukraine borders 10 European countries.

Note when exporting goods to Ukraine at the present time:

Sharing about the ongoing difficulties in trade, UCCI Vice President Valery Korol said that the transportation of goods through seaports in Ukraine is facing difficulties when 92% of goods exported from Ukraine to the world must be transported to the world. through European countries.

Meanwhile, according to Director of the Vietnam Trade Office in Ukraine Hoang Dinh Chai, although Ukraine's main seaport, Odessa, has opened, only food goods are prioritized. Therefore, goods entering Ukraine will temporarily be docked in European countries and transported by road (mainly rail) into Ukraine.

On the other hand, because the seaport is closed, the cost of transporting goods into this market has increased significantly, specifically a container can be up to 6,000 - 7,000 USD.

Regarding payment issues, Mr. Chai suggested that businesses need to find out information clearly, clearly discuss shipping and payment methods, and businesses should require a deposit in advance of the shipment.

In terms of insurance, in the past, companies did not want to insure shipments of goods entering and leaving Ukraine. However, at present, shipments into this market have been facilitated with an insurance fund of at least 0.5-1.5%/shipment value.

According to the General Department of Vietnam Customs, in the first quarter of 2203, Vietnam exported 5.1 million USD of goods to Ukraine, down 88% compared to the same period in 2022. Of which, footwear is the item with export turnover. largest export with 2.5 million USD. Ranked 2nd is seafood with 898 million USD...

If in the first quarter of 2022, Vietnam recorded exports of fruits and vegetables, cashew nuts, coffee, rubber and plastic products to Ukraine, this quarter did not record export data.

In the first quarter of 2023, Vietnam imported 7.74 million USD of goods from Ukraine, down 92% compared to the same period in 2022. Of which, machinery, equipment, tools and other spare parts reached 582,910 USD, down 68% compared to the same period in 2022; Other goods reached 7.1 million USD; down 93% over the same period in 2022.

Minh Toan