Vietnamese products will have a greater presence in South America.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's working visit to Brazil opens up opportunities for exporting Vietnamese goods to the South American market with enormous 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 agreement for a shipment from one country to the other - Photo: VGP

Despite their geographical distance, Vietnam and Brazil have been "brought closer" by the current global context. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit to Brazil from July 4th to 7th – for the third consecutive year – demonstrates a strong effort to promote cooperation between the two sides.

The talks with Brazilian President Lula da Silva on July 5-7 affirmed the potential for complementarity rather than competition, with Brazil being Vietnam's largest trading partner in Latin America and bilateral trade reaching US$7.98 billion in 2024.

Breakthrough from government agreement

This round of talks yielded very concrete results in opening up the agricultural market. Immediately after the talks, the two leaders symbolically signed the first shipment of Brazilian beef to Vietnam and the first shipment of Vietnamese pangasius, basa, and tilapia to Brazil.

Brazil affirmed its readiness to import more seafood and rice from Vietnam. At the Prime Minister's suggestion, the two sides agreed to sign an agreement to ensure stable and long-term food security, under which Vietnam will export rice to stabilize Brazil's food supply.

In particular, the two countries agreed to strengthen cooperation in the coffee industry – a shared strength of both. They will also promote the formation of a coffee production and export alliance, research the establishment of a coffee exchange, build a common brand, and elevate the coffee-drinking culture associated with the traditions of both nations.

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

The Brazilian president affirmed his support for the proposal, agreeing that the two ministers of industry and trade should immediately exchange views and coordinate closely with MERCOSUR members.

Businesses are starting to get more interested.

For a long time, due to the long distance and high shipping costs, Vietnamese businesses have not paid much attention to the Latin American market. However, recent surveys by Vietnamese expert teams show that Vietnamese goods are highly rated for their quality, leading to higher-than-expected demand.

A notable aspect of the Prime Minister's trips to Brazil is his engagement with businesses. On all three occasions he visited Brazil, he held meetings with local businesses, with the number of participants increasing each time, demonstrating their strong interest in cooperating with Vietnam.

This year's Vietnam-Brazil Business Forum saw nearly double the number of Vietnamese businesses participating compared to Brazilian businesses (50 versus 30). These included representatives from leading corporations such as Embraer, JBS, and Cecil from Brazil, and Vietnam's National Energy and Industry Corporation, Viettel, and Loc Troi Group.

Speaking at the forum, the Prime Minister emphasized 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 avoid politicizing trade and science and technology.

"What Brazil lacks, Vietnam has the potential for; what Brazil has strengths in, Vietnam needs," the Prime Minister said, referring to the complementarity of the two economies, citing the example of the abundant fruit varieties in both countries, which have different harvest seasons.

The upcoming direction of cooperation between the two countries is to invest in on-site agricultural production and processing, aiming to serve the markets of both countries and export to other countries. Vietnamese businesses can grow rice and process it right in Brazil, while Brazilian businesses can raise livestock and process meat in Vietnam.

Building on the strong political and diplomatic relations, the Prime Minister urged businesses from both countries to strengthen connections, cooperation, and investment, concretizing the agreements reached by the leaders of both countries. The Vietnamese government is committed to creating all favorable conditions for Brazilian investors to successfully and sustainably invest in Vietnam.

Brazilian beef officially enters Vietnam.

Also on July 5th (local time), Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh received Brazilian Minister of Agriculture 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 usher in a new era for agricultural cooperation between the two countries, making agriculture a breakthrough area of ​​bilateral cooperation.

DUY LINH

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