VIETRADE – The trade promotion activities between the two countries have been strongly developed. Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency, Ministry of Industry and Trade (VIETRADE) has built the cooperation relation with Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO). The two organizations have jointly organized trade promotion events in the two countries, especially the annual “Vietnam – Japan Supporting Industries” exhibition in Hanoi and Hochiminh City. The event contributes to strengthen economic and investment cooperation between the two countries and improve the capability of Vietnam’s supporting industries.

Besides, Vietnam is the member of the ASEAN – Japan Centre (AJC). The aims of AJC are to promote export from ASEAN countries to Japan, encourage the investment of Japan into ASEAN countries and increase the tourism between Japan and ASEAN member countries. Since becoming member of AJC, Vietnam has actively joined activities of this centre and gained many practical results. In the general framework, AJC has organized special assistance programs for 4 ASEAN countries including Vietnam to help companies export high quality products to Japan.

However, the position of Vietnamese products in Japanese market is still small. Vietnamese products account for only one third of the total import value of Japan. Japanese export products to Vietnam account for only 1.16% of the total export value. Regarding to the bilateral trade value, Vietnam is always behind Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. This means that the trade relation between the two countries has more room to develop.

The reason is that Vietnamese companies have not make use of all the benefits in this market. They are limited in updating the market information, understanding the business culture and distribution channel. The costs to access the market through participating in trade fairs, surveying and researching market are too high for Vietnamese companies to be affordable. In some cases, Vietnamese companies cannot meet the demands on food safety regulations in manufacturing and processing. Therefore, Vietnamese shrimp exported to Japan are always tested strictly.

Besides, there are many difficulties for Vietnamese companies to penetrate Japanese market. This market is characterized by strict technical barriers, industrial standards and regulations on pesticide residue for agricultural products as well as custom clearance procedures.

In order to promote export to Japan, Vietnamese companies need to:

- Make use of all the benefits that AJCP and VJEPA bring to them, including updating the roadmap of tariff cut-down and elimination for important export products, overcoming technical barriers and meeting all the rules of these two agreements;

- Invest in renovating production lines and improving the quality of products, ensure the big quantity orders and keep the competitive price to increase the market share in Japanese market and compete with suppliers from other countries;

- Develop the supporting industries to increase the local content and add value to export products;

- Collect, analyze and process information, understand the business culture and tastes of Japanese customers;

- Understand and learn the communication culture of Japanese people;

- Update the regulations and standards on food safety and testing practices in Japan to eliminate the return of products, reduce the time and cost of custom clearance;

- Carefully prepare for joining in trade fairs to negotiate effectively with Japanese partners;

- Import suitable machinery, equipment and materials at a reasonable price.

In order to do all the above efficiently, Vietnamese companies should contact for assistance from trade promotion organizations like VIETRADE and JETRO, industrial associations and Vietnam’s trade offices in Japan. This is a good bridge to do business successfully in Japan.