Given its large population, diverse demand for goods and services, not too strict import standards, and production complementarities, the Philippines is a high potential market for Vietnamese exports, said the Trade Office of Vietnam in the archipelago nation.

The office noted the Philippines had a population of about 113 million in 2023, ranking 13th in the world, seventh in Asia, and second in ASEAN. As dynamically developing economies in the region, Vietnam and the Philippines share many similarities and also production complementarities, so there remains much room for them to expand economic and trade ties.

The country’s domestic production is relatively limited, leading to high demand for imports, especially food products, and its import standards for goods and services are not too strict. 

Those factors, together with the close proximity and similar consumption habits, means the Philippines is a high potential market for Vietnamese exports, the office said, noting that Vietnam is the 10th largest trading partner of the Philippines.

Thirty-five products and groups of products from Vietnam are being sold in the Philippines, including farm produce, aquatic products, confectionery, animal feed, cement, steel, construction materials, textiles and garments, machinery, and equipment. Notably, farm produce, particularly rice, have always accounted for a large proportion of the total exports.

Vietnam has continually posted a trade surplus with the Philippines over the past years, the Trade Office went on.

Despite impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, bilateral trade topped 7.8 billion USD in 2022, up 14.7% year on year. That consisted of over 5.1 billion USD in Vietnam exports to and 2.7 billion USD in imports from the Philippines, respectively rising 11.6% and 12.8%, according to the Asia - Africa Market Department of the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

In 2023, the trade revenue was equivalent to the 2022 figure, 7.8 billion USD, comprising 5.15 billion USD in Vietnam’s exports and 2.65 billion USD in imports, respectively increasing 1% and declining 2% year on year.

Rice is a staple export of Vietnam to the Philippines. Last year, the former shipped 3.1 million tonnes of rice, down 2% from 2022, to the latter to earn 1.75 billion USD, up 17.6%. The Vietnamese grain made up over 80% of the Philippines’ rice import volume, statistics show.

Meanwhile, Vietnam’s main imports from the archipelago country include computers, electronic devices, and components, machinery, equipment, tools, and spare parts, metals, electrical cables, aquatic products, automobile components, confectionery, and animal feed.

To further tap into this market, the Trade Office held that it is necessary to continue sustaining Vietnam’s status as the biggest rice supplier for the Philippines while diversifying the export structure and raising the shipment value.

The Philippines is a high potential market, but Vietnamese businesses have yet to pay due attention to it, the office said, pointing out the necessity to step up communications to help companies realise its potential to boost exports.

VNA