Source: bnews.vn
Within the framework of the national trade promotion program 2023, the Vietnam Rubber Association has coordinated with the Vietnam Trade Office in Germany to organize trade and trade promotion programs for the delegation of Vietnamese rubber enterprises. in Germany from April 20 to 27, 2023.
According to the Vietnam News Agency correspondent in Berlin, on April 21, at the headquarters of the Vietnamese Embassy in Germany, the program of trade and business connection was successfully held with the participation of Ambassador Vu Quang Minh; Mr. Nguyen Manh Hai, Counselor in charge of Investment Department of Vietnam Embassy; Ms. Do Viet Ha, representative of the Vietnam Trade Office; The German house (Deutsches Haus) with representatives of German businesses such as Weber & Schaer GmbH, Blickle Räder+Rollen GmbH, VLK EuropeConsult GmbH, GLB Germany GmbH… and 15 reputable rubber exporters from Vietnam.
In his welcome speech, Ambassador Vu Quang Minh emphasized that the good relations between the two countries are developing more and more widely in all fields, especially after more than 10 years of successful implementation of the Vietnam strategic partnership– Virtue.
Currently, Germany is Vietnam’s largest trading partner in the European Union (EU), while Vietnam is Germany’s largest trading partner in Southeast Asia.
The Ambassador highly appreciated the dynamism of Vietnamese enterprises, affirming the increasingly strong competitiveness of Vietnamese goods, especially after the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA). effective.
With the great potential of the market, the Ambassador expressed his wish that businesses make the most of opportunities to conquer this very difficult but potential market.
Mr. Huynh Van Bao, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Rubber Association, said that Vietnam’s rubber industry in general and rubber enterprises in particular in recent years have achieved positive results, although in the context of the global market. The school has a lot of changes.
The total export turnover of the whole industry including natural rubber, rubber products, and rubber wood will reach about 10.4 billion USD in 2022, accounting for 2.8% of the country’s export turnover of goods, up 9 .1% compared to 2021. According to the Association, in 2023, the whole Vietnamese rubber industry sets a target of export turnover of 11.1 billion USD, up 7.6% compared to 2022.
Ms. Phan Tran Hong Van, Deputy General Secretary of the Vietnam Rubber Association, said that Vietnam’s rubber plantation area is currently 929.5 thousand hectares, accounting for 7.2% of the total global rubber area. The average yield of Vietnamese rubber is 1,720kg/ha, ranking first in Asia. Vietnam is currently the third largest rubber exporter in the world, accounting for 17.4% of the total global rubber trade.
Representative of the Trade Office, Ms. Do Viet Ha, shared some information about the German and EU rubber markets. The rubber industry is a very important industry of Germany, providing products for the automotive, mechanical, and construction industries. The demand for importing natural rubber and German rubber products is huge.
In 2021, Vietnam is the fourth largest supplier of natural rubber to Germany, with 40.58 thousand tons, worth $ 84.25 million (according to statistics of the International Trade Center).
Germany is a large market with strict requirements on product quality, so businesses should carefully study the EU technical standards for rubber products. For example, regulations on CE marking, product safety, labeling, packaging, and especially corporate social responsibility.
According to Mr. Nguyen Manh Hai, Investment Counselor, Germany is among the top 3 EU investors in Vietnam, with 442 valid FDI projects with a total registered capital of more than 2.35 billion USD at the time. end of the first quarter of 2023.
The EVFTA Agreement creates conditions to attract foreign direct investment capital into Vietnam to cooperate in joint ventures to produce rubber products when the import tax on raw materials, machinery and equipment into Vietnam is gradually reduced. up to 0%.
Accordingly, developing the rubber product processing industry to increase added value as well as diversify the industry’s products, promote the rubber industry to deeply participate in domestic and international value chains, from from supplying raw materials to producing finished products for domestic and export markets.
In the coming time, the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) is awaiting approval by the National Assembly of EU member states, which will open up more opportunities for trade and investment cooperation between Vietnam and the EU. in general and Germany in particular.
At the trade session, Vietnamese and German businesses had very specific discussions about the needs of importing rubber and rubber products.
Mr. Tobias Boysen, Sales Director of Weber & Schaer GmbH & Co.KG – a large German distribution and wholesale group of natural rubber and rubber products, highly appreciated the quality of rubber products of Germany. In Vietnam, many Vietnamese rubber companies have obtained international certificates of sustainability such as FSC, PEFC… Weber & Schaer Group said it will increase imports of natural rubber, latex rubber, and other products. Vietnamese rubber products.
Mr. Martin Sülzle, Head of Import Department of Blickle Räder & Rollen Group – a distribution group of wheels of all kinds, with branches in 120 countries around the world, said that there is a need to import rubber products, accessories made from Vietnamese rubber and plans to cooperate with Vietnam in the near future.
Also within the framework of the promotion program, the Vietnam Rubber Association delegation will have a working session and visit the tire factory Continental AG – a German multinational auto parts manufacturing corporation, a tire manufacturer. 4th largest car in the world.
In addition, the delegation will visit the headquarters of Weber & Schaer and Corrie Maccoll to learn more about product needs and market trends for Vietnam’s rubber export industry./.
