Vietnam and Thailand have yet to fully capitalise on their advantages and increase export earnings from one another.
Thai Ambassador to Vietnam Pisanu Chanvitan made the remark at a press briefing on Thailand’s Trade Fair, which is scheduled for August 12 in Hanoi.
The ambassador cited the fact that Vietnam, while topping ASEAN member countries in exports of aquatic products, has not yet secured a niche for its products in Thailand, which has a great demand for the item.
“It takes only four hours to transport aquatic products from Quang Tri province in Vietnam’s central region to Thailand. But, as the transport cost is high so prices of Vietnam’s aquatic products are much higher than similar products Thailand imports from the south Asian country of Bangladesh,” the Thai ambassador said.
Vietnam should move to reduce transport costs so its aquatic products can be more competitive and become popular in the Thai market, he said.
The diplomat also referred to another fact, that Vietnam is importing a large quantity of beef from Australia and New Zealand, while its neighbour Thailand, is a big exporter of high-quality beef at competitive prices.
In 2009, Vietnam and Thailand traded more than 6 billion USD in goods with Vietnam registering an import surplus. Having similar items such as foods and fruits makes it hard for Vietnamese products to find a niche in the Thai market. However, there are still chances for Vietnamese goods as their prices are lower than their Thai counterparts.
At the press briefing, the Thai diplomat reported that many Thai businesses are investing in Vietnam’s central region, mainly in seafood processing, real estate and tourism.
The two countries are also working on the launch of a high-quality bus service to transport Thai tourists to Vietnam’s central area, he said, expressing hope that Vietnam will lessen the timing required for immigration procedures at central border gates to facilitate this tourist programme./.