With spending expected to increase from $1.5 trillion today to about $6 trillion by 2030, the Indian market has a lot of room for Vietnamese goods. This is also the main export market for Vietnamese star anise.

Lots of potential

Assessing the bilateral cooperation between Vietnam and India, Indian Ambassador to Vietnam Sandeep Arya affirmed that Vietnam and India have great potential to expand cooperation and promote growth in the fields of agriculture - fisheries; electricity, electronics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals production; mineral processing; energy and many other fields.

Sharing the same view, the Vietnam Trade Office in India also believes that trade is an important pillar in the Vietnam - India bilateral relationship, continuously achieving steady growth over the past 20 years. Bilateral relations increased from about 200 million USD (in 2000) to 15 billion USD (in 2022), making India one of the top 8 trade partners of our country, while Vietnam is in the top 4 ASEAN countries with trade relations with India.

Notably, in recent years, the structure of import and export goods of the two countries has been balanced and complementary. While India is an important source of raw materials and finished products for Vietnam in the fields of steel, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, textiles, animal feed, and seafood, Vietnam's leading export products to India are personal computers, mobile phones and components, steel, chemicals, wood and wood products, footwear, spices, coffee, pepper, etc.

In 2023, Vietnam's export turnover to India reached more than 8.49 billion USD, an increase of 6.7% over the previous year.

Top export markets of Vietnamese star anise

By 2022, our country will have about 40,000 hectares of star anise, concentrated in Lang Son and Cao Bang with an annual output of more than 16,000 tons.

According to statistics from the World Spice Organization, Vietnam's star anise output ranks second globally, after China. Of which, India is the country that imports the most star anise from Vietnam.

In terms of market, India continues to be the country importing the most star anise from Vietnam with 6,083 tons, up 6.3% over the same period last year.

Preliminary statistics from the Vietnam Pepper and Spice Association (VPSA) show that Vietnam's star anise exports in August reached 1,146 tons with a value of 5.4 million USD, down 31% compared to the previous month. By the end of August, Vietnam exported 9,831 tons of star anise with a total turnover of 47.3 million USD, down 1.7% in volume and 17.8% in value compared to the same period last year.

In terms of markets, India continues to be the country that imports the most star anise from Vietnam with 6,083 tons, up 6.3% over the same period last year. The US ranked second with 694 tons, up 8.4%. Taiwan (China) rose to third place with 301 tons, up 169% over the same period last year.

According to VPSA, the reason why India has become the leading export market for Vietnamese star anise is because it is a country that uses a lot of spices and flavorings, and is also a major producer of medicinal herbs in the world. Vietnam is also dominating the Indian market with more than 80% of cinnamon and star anise imports. With the largest population in the world, India has a very large market demand for cinnamon, star anise, and medicinal herbs.

Promote agricultural products and processed foods

For Vietnamese businesses, India is a huge food market with a lot of room to explore and do business. India ranks second in the world in the food processing sector. This industry currently contributes 13% of India's gross domestic product (GDP), expected to reach 535 billion USD by 2025-2026, with a growth rate of 15%/year until 2030.

At the 3rd World Food Fair in India (WFI 2024), many products were introduced by Vietnamese companies, including fresh fruits, dried fruits, frozen durian, longan, dragon fruit, cashew nuts, coffee, tea, pepper, cinnamon, instant noodles, instant pho, etc.

In a video message sent to WFI 2024, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi affirmed that India has a diverse culinary culture.

Over the past 10 years, the Government of India has introduced wide-ranging reforms to transform the food processing sector to create a modern and developed ecosystem, thereby becoming a part of the global value chain. In addition, he called for realizing the dream of building a sustainable, safe, inclusive and nutritious world.

Indian Minister of Food Processing Industries Chirag Paswan said that the food processing industry has an important role and position, helping the South Asian country achieve its goal of becoming a developed country by 2047.

Mr. Chirag Paswan affirmed that WFI 2024 plays a role as a platform to support, promote and encourage the connection of the Indian food processing industry with countries around the world, bringing the Indian food processing industry to a global level.

At WFI 2024, Vietnam was selected as one of the two focus countries (Focus Country). This year, our country has 2 booths of 27m2 and 150m2, displaying typical agricultural products and processed foods of more than 20 enterprises such as 365 Café Joint Stock Company, Hong Sang Fruit Company Limited, Tedfast Wine Company (Ngoc Binh Rice), Uniben Company, Richy Joint Stock Company, Wakey Coffee Company, Van Phong Tea Company Limited, ANTO Tea Company Limited...

The Vietnamese booth has attracted a lot of attention and appreciation from Indian and other foreign enterprises, as well as attracting the attention of visitors. Products such as longan, dragon fruit, and coffee from Vietnam are especially popular in the Indian market.

According to the Vietnamese Trade Counselor in India - Mr. Bui Trung Thuong, Vietnam being selected as one of the two key countries at WFI 2024 is a great and meaningful opportunity. This is a recognition from India for the Vietnam-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and the efforts of the Trade Office - Embassy of Vietnam in India, while affirming Vietnam's role in the global food supply chain. This is also a testament to the potential and quality of Vietnam's agricultural products and processed foods, helping to promote the image of the country and its products to international friends.

Counselor Bui Trung Thuong expects that participating in WFI this time has brought many benefits to Vietnamese businesses, including strengthening connections, approaching potential partners, thereby expanding export markets to India as well as other countries. This is also an opportunity to learn from other countries about modern food processing and preservation technology, contributing to increasing the value of Vietnamese agricultural products. Moreover, with the presence of many leaders from 18 ministries, departments and branches of India, the fair is also an opportunity to promote dialogue and policy cooperation to facilitate the export of Vietnamese agricultural products to India, especially speeding up the process of plant quarantine and food safety.

Source: Kinh Te Nong Thon Newspaper