Trade and Investment Promotion (ITPC)

Mr. Ho Xuan Lam, Deputy Director of the Investment and Trade Promotion Center (ITPC), spoke as above at the seminar "Accessing the Indonesian market during the 2015 ASEAN integration period" taking place in Ho Chi Minh City on the morning of May 8.

Mr. Lam said that in 2014, trade turnover between Vietnam and Indonesia reached nearly 5.4 billion USD, an increase of nearly 11.5% compared to 2013.

Mr. Nguyen Anh Ngoc, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam - Indonesia Friendship Association in Ho Chi Minh City, said that the first two months of 2015, trade between the two countries reached more than 900 million USD, an increase of 66.16% over the same period in 2014. Vietnam exported 563 million USD to Indonesia in the first two months of the year, an increase of 45.54% over the same period. Among them, the export of phones and components is the leader, accounting for 35.4% of total turnover, reaching more than 199 million USD; Iron and steel ranked second, reaching more than 95 million USD, an increase of more than 103% over the same period last year.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese products imported from Indonesia mainly include wood and wood products, pharmaceuticals, rubber products... with a turnover of nearly 340 million USD.

According to Mr. Ngoc, in addition to exported products with high value, Vietnamese businesses need to pay attention and promote the export of agricultural products (rice, crude oil, vegetables and fruits), and seafood. These are products that the Indonesian market produces but does not meet the demand.

"For example, Indonesia does not produce enough rice for consumption and it is a big market for Vietnam. In 2013, Indonesia imported from Vietnam more than 960 thousand tons of rice worth more than 496 million USD, accounting for 18.29% of Vietnam's total rice export turnover," Mr. Ngoc cited.

In addition, Mr. Ngoc said that Indonesia's fresh food consumption market is the fifth largest in the world and it is also a business development opportunity for companies in the Vietnamese food industry.

In addition, the commercial and retail industry is also a potential market that Vietnamese businesses should approach more deeply. Mr. Ngoc suggested that businesses should approach the supermarket system because the supermarket system here is well developed and the regulations to penetrate are not too difficult.

Mr. Abdulla, Director of Foreign Affairs of Halal Vietnam Import-Export Company, said that Indonesian people are mostly Muslim, so the Halal certificate is a passport for Vietnamese products and Vietnamese businesses when entering this market.

It is known that Halal in Arabic means "legal" or "permitted", the opposite of Halal is Haram, meaning "unlawful" or "forbidden". Halal products are products that are confirmed to be free of prohibited ingredients and ensure "purity" throughout the production process.

To achieve Halal certification for products, businesses must go through an independent, objective review process to confirm that their products do not use banned ingredients and that production and supply conditions meet the requirements of Shari'ah law and Halal standards.