Vietnamese goods will be more present in South America

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's working trip to Brazil opens up opportunities to export Vietnamese goods to the South American market with great potential, marking a new step forward in the strategic partnership between the two countries.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Brazilian President Lula da Silva symbolically sign the export shipment from one country to the other - Photo: VGP

Despite being geographically far apart, Vietnam and Brazil have been "pulled closer" by the current world context. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's working trip to Brazil from July 4 to 7 - the third consecutive year - shows the effort to strongly promote cooperation between the two sides.

The talks with Brazilian President Lula da Silva on July 5 affirmed the potential for complementarity rather than competition, with Brazil being Vietnam's largest trading partner in Latin America and two-way trade reaching 7.98 billion USD in 2024.

Breakthrough from government agreement

This meeting brought about very concrete results in opening the agricultural market. Immediately after the meeting, the two leaders symbolically signed the first batch of Brazilian beef exported to Vietnam and the first batch of Vietnamese tra, basa and tilapia fish exported to Brazil.

Brazil affirmed its willingness to import more seafood and rice from Vietnam. At the Prime Minister’s request, the two sides agreed to sign an agreement to ensure stable and long-term food security, in which Vietnam will export rice to stabilize food sources for Brazil.

In particular, the two countries agreed to promote cooperation in the coffee industry - a common strength of both. The two sides will also promote the formation of a coffee production and export alliance, research the establishment of a coffee trading floor, build a common brand and enhance the coffee-drinking culture associated with the traditions of the two nations.

To strongly promote trade, the Prime Minister asked the Brazilian President to support the early conclusion of the FTA negotiations between Vietnam and the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) in the last six months of 2025 when Brazil chairs MERCOSUR, as well as the FTA between Vietnam and Brazil.

The Brazilian President affirmed his support for this proposal, agreeing that the two ministers of industry and trade need to immediately discuss and closely coordinate with MERCOSUR members.

Businesses begin to "take an interest"

For a long time, due to the long distance and high transportation costs, Vietnamese enterprises have not paid much attention to the Latin American market. However, a recent survey by Vietnamese expert delegations shows that Vietnamese goods are highly appreciated for their quality, leading to higher demand than expected.

A special feature of the Prime Minister's business trips to Brazil is his meetings with businesses. In all three visits to the samba country, he had activities with local businesses, with the number of participants each time being greater than the previous, showing that they are very interested in cooperating with Vietnam.

This Vietnam - Brazil Business Forum witnessed the participation of nearly double the number of Vietnamese enterprises than Brazilian enterprises (50 compared to 30). Among them were representatives of leading corporations such as Embraer, JBS, Cecil of Brazil and Vietnam National Industry and Energy Group, Viettel, Loc Troi Group of Vietnam.

Speaking at the forum, the Prime Minister stressed that the world situation is changing rapidly, bringing many opportunities but also many challenges. Therefore, it is necessary to promote solidarity and unity, uphold multilateralism, promote free trade, and not politicize trade and science and technology.

"What Brazil lacks, Vietnam has potential, what Brazil has strengths, Vietnam needs" - the Prime Minister talked about the complementarity of the two economies, giving an example of the two countries' fruits being abundant but having different seasons.

The upcoming new direction of cooperation between the two countries is to invest in the production and processing of agricultural products on the spot, to serve the markets of the two countries and export to other countries. Vietnamese enterprises can grow rice and process rice right in Brazil, while Brazilian enterprises can raise livestock and process meat in Vietnam.

On the basis of good political and diplomatic relations, the Prime Minister called on businesses of the two countries to promote connection, cooperation, investment, and concretize the agreements of the two countries' leaders. The Vietnamese Government is committed to creating all favorable conditions for Brazilian investors to cooperate and invest successfully, sustainably, and long-term in Vietnam.

Brazilian beef officially enters Vietnam

Also on July 5 (local time), Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh received Brazilian Agriculture Minister Carlos Fávaro and witnessed the first container of Brazilian beef exported to Vietnam. This is an important milestone marking the opening of the agricultural market between the two countries.

The Head of Government believes that the results of this visit will open a new era for agricultural cooperation between the two countries, making agriculture a breakthrough field of bilateral cooperation.

DUY LINH

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/hang-viet-se-hien-dien-nhieu-hon-o-nam-my-20250707073309305.htm