Thanks to the careful grasp of opportunities and the persistent efforts of the Government, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the business community, many Vietnamese products have now been present in 200 countries and territories. To achieve this result, there is an important contribution from the system of Trade Offices - economic "ambassadors" who act as a bridge to bring Vietnamese brands further.

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Recalling the time when Vietnam first joined the World Trade Organization (WTO), when talking with the leaders of the Ministry of Industry (now the Ministry of Industry and Trade), a manufacturing enterprise expressed the wish that one day, "Made in Vietnam" goods would access foreign distribution systems and gain a position in the world market like "Made in Japan" and "Made in Korea".

Up to now, with the correct and steadfast policy on economic integration of our Party and State, "Made in Vietnam" goods have been exported to more than 200 countries and territories. Vietnam has also gradually become the top choice destination of many leading corporations and companies in the world. The words "made in Vietnam" have been trusted and chosen by consumers in many "difficult" markets such as the United States, EU, Japan, Australia...

Vietnam has been named in the top 30 countries and territories with the largest export value of goods in the world. Vietnam has also become the most open economy in the world, the trade balance of goods has improved, gradually shifting from trade deficit to trade surplus for many consecutive years.

According to recent statistics from the WTO, among the 50 countries with the largest merchandise trade in the world, Vietnam has the largest growth rate, moving from 39th place in 2009 to 23rd place just 10 years later (2019). In 2023, although import and export turnover decreased in line with the general global context, the trade balance continued to maintain its position for the 8th consecutive year, with a very large surplus of up to 28 billion USD.

In that overall achievement, there is a very important contribution of the Vietnamese trade office system abroad. In particular, along with the development of technology, the Vietnamese trade office system has connected with the business community and management agencies "at home" to promptly provide valuable information on changes in management policies and consumer tastes in many key markets.

Speaking at the online conference on market development with Vietnamese trade representative agencies abroad on August 19, 2022, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh assessed that the Vietnamese trade office system abroad has recently performed well in providing information on policies, market demand, trade promotion, trade connection, and supporting domestic enterprises in removing difficulties.

However, since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and the period after, the world economic context has had many unusual and unprecedented fluctuations, requiring strong and comprehensive innovation in business operations to meet the requirements of tasks in the new situation.

Accordingly, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien clearly stated the view that the Trade Office must be innovated; the activities of the Trade Office must be effective and practical as a breakthrough in export of trade promotion work. Management agencies must not be passive, businesses must not suffer losses due to slow information acquisition, missed opportunities for cooperation and trade...

Under the direction of the Minister, trade promotion meetings between representatives of Vietnam Trade Offices in other countries and the domestic business community have been held periodically at the end of each month. Each meeting has clear topics on market areas, export industries, etc. It is clear to see the interactive atmosphere of innovation, excitement and especially practicality as the message of Minister Nguyen Hong Dien has repeatedly noted, the measure of integration is not how many FTAs ​​have been signed and implemented, but the main issue lies in how far Vietnamese enterprises have participated in the global supply chain, how much they have exploited opportunities from FTAs.

The spirit of multi-dimensional exchange and interaction has encouraged localities and enterprises and transformed into the main working attitude of specialized agencies under the Ministry. Functional units have provided and regularly updated enterprises with information on market situations, fluctuations and changes in trade policies, import-export management policies of host countries, as well as recommended measures to overcome technical barriers, overcome new trade protection tools, etc.

Back to the story of the dream of bringing Vietnamese goods into foreign distribution systems at the beginning of the article. It can be affirmed that, besides the high-level negotiation channels of the Government and the Ministry of Industry and Trade continuously in recent years, the Vietnamese trade office system has been tirelessly and persistently bringing Vietnamese goods to foreign distribution chains, directly selling to local consumers under Vietnamese brands.

There are a series of trade promotion activities, Vietnamese Goods Weeks organized in many countries in recent years. There are successes and also problems that have not met expectations. However, those working in trade affairs understand very well that this is an effective, sustainable and important method in building and positioning the national brand.

It should also be added that this is not an easy task. When most of Vietnam's strong products are also the target of competition from some countries in the region in major markets such as the EU, the United States, China, Australia, the Middle East, etc.

Vietnamese Rice products are sold at Carrefour Supermarket.

From the relentless efforts of the past years, 2024 marks very impressive steps in bringing Vietnamese brands to penetrate foreign distribution systems.

For example, the rice products under the brand name “Com Vietnam rice” of Loc Troi Group (An Giang) or the specialty spices of DHFoods and the sauces of Cholimex - “purely Vietnamese” enterprises have gradually appeared more and more in large distribution systems in France such as Carrefour and E.Leclerc supermarkets. This is a very meaningful success. Because with nearly 600 hypermarkets and hundreds of small supermarkets throughout France, E.Leclerc is one of the largest retail systems in this country and in Europe.

Or like the Australian market, Vietnam is currently among the countries with the largest rice suppliers to Australia with good growth turnover, reaching more than 30 million USD in 2023. In April 2024, rice export turnover increased by 18%.

Along with rice, fruit is an item with good export growth rate. Currently, in addition to the four Vietnamese products licensed for export to Australia, namely mango, longan, lychee, and dragon fruit, grapefruit is also being considered for market opening. In mid-May 2024, more than 1 ton of Thanh Ha lychee was successfully exported to Australia by air.

Similarly, Vietnamese lychees entering the US supermarket system also demonstrates the tireless efforts of the Vietnam Trade Office in this country to connect. The most difficult part of the journey to bring lychees into major US supermarket systems such as Costco, Safeway, Albertsons is the irradiation step as required by the US Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), while in Vietnam there is only an irradiation facility in Ho Chi Minh City. Therefore, the Vietnam Trade Office in the US negotiated with APHIS to approve Vietnam to add another trading partner and signed an agreement with APHIS during the process of approving the irradiation facility for the product.

Along with lychee, Vietnam currently exports dragon fruit, mango, longan, lychee, rambutan, star apple, grapefruit and coconut to the US market.

These are important developments in promoting agricultural trade cooperation between the two countries, paving the way for other potential Vietnamese fruits to penetrate the US market in the future.

Or like with the billion-people Chinese market, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the trade agency pay great attention to activities to promote and connect the consumption of Vietnamese agricultural, forestry and fishery products.

Most recently, at the first Vietnam Fruit Festival with the theme "Vietnamese Fruits - Four Delicious Seasons" (September 29-30, 2024) at Tan Phat Dia Agricultural Products Distribution Center, Phong Dai District, Beijing (China) organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in coordination with the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Embassy of Vietnam in China and the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, there was the participation of many large agricultural enterprises in Vietnam and specialized agricultural associations, importers, and suppliers of China.

This is an activity to promote the image and brand to develop sustainable fruit exports and gain higher value, going deeper into the market that accounts for more than 60% of Vietnam's fruit and vegetable export turnover.

It can be said that, from the initial modest steps, the entire Trade Office system has been making efforts to "bridge" Vietnamese goods around the world, contributing significantly to the effective implementation of FTAs, expanding export markets, quantified by the specific import turnover value each year. This is a continuous and essential task of the Vietnamese Trade Office system abroad, and also the responsibility of those working in economic diplomacy for the country's integration and development.

Thuy Linh