VN, Russia trade continues surging this year

VGP - The two-way trade turnover between Việt Nam and the Russian Federation is estimated to increase from over US $1.6 billion in 2008 to US $2 billion in 2009 and US $3 billion in 2010, according to the European Market Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

August 11, 2009 11:12 AM GMT+7

Việt Nam exports many consumer goods to Russia

The bilateral trade stood at US $820 million in the first half of this year, down by 14.5% against the same period last year, due to impacts of the global economic recession.

In 2008, Việt Nam earned US $671.9 million from exporting goods to Russia, mainly garments, footwear, farm products, seafood and handicrafts, up by 46.4% compared to the same period of 2007. Meanwhile, the country spent US $969.6 million to import gasoline, steel, fertilizers, chemicals, machines and equipment from Russia, up by 75.5%.

The bilateral trade turnover was over US $1.6 billion in 2008, up by 62.4% against 2007, said the Department.

Regarding investment ties, Russia registered two new investment projects, totaling US $329.8 million, in Việt Nam in the first half of 2009, ranking the 5^th among foreign investors doing business here. Most of the Russia-invested projects involve in rubber cultivation, sea transport, building material production, food processing, energy.

According to experts, to raise the efficiency of economic, trade and investment cooperation between the two countries, Vietnamese enterprises should upgrade their technologies and improve competitiveness of their products. The State is advised to offer more incentives and preferential policies to support the business community.

By Ngọc Vân