Besides rice and food, items such as footwear, household products, and electrical machinery and equipment are considered to be items that Vietnamese businesses have great potential to export to Timor Leste.

In the first 6 months of 2024, Vietnam exported goods to Timor Leste worth 7.4 million USD, with the main items being rice and textiles. In the opposite direction, Vietnam imported goods from this smallest country in Southeast Asia worth 670,707 USD.

Over the past decade, Timor Leste has continuously had a trade deficit with Vietnam, with the highest year being 63 million USD in goods (2014). However, exports to this market are not stable. While in the period 2013 - 2014, the value of Vietnamese goods exported to Timor Leste recorded high growth, from 46 million USD to 63 million, in 2015 the turnover decreased by about 50%. Vietnam's exports to Timor Leste continued to decline until the end of 2018 and regained growth in 2019 and 2020.

Vietnam - Timor Leste trade period 2013 - 2024

Regarding specific export items, sharing with Mekong ASEAN, Mr. Pham The Cuong - Commercial Counselor, Vietnam Trade Office in Indonesia concurrently in Timor Leste informed that in 2023, Vietnam exported rice to Timor Leste reaching 9.3 million USD, electrical machinery and equipment reaching 3.48 million USD, seafood reaching 801,000 USD, iron and steel reaching 686,000 USD, sugary drinks reaching 1.44 million USD.

Vietnamese goods exported to Timor Leste in 2023

Regarding investment, Vietnam has an investment project of Viettel in Timor Leste with a capital of 15 million USD to establish Viettel East Timor (Telemor).

What potential does Timor Leste have for Vietnamese goods?

According to Mr. Pham The Cuong, the Timor Leste market still has a lot of potential for Vietnam's export goods such as rice, processed foods, milk and dairy products, footwear, beverages, household products, electrical machinery and equipment.

However, Mr. Cuong also said that Timor Leste is a country with a small population of about 1.3 million people, with total imports of less than 1.2 billion USD in 2023, which will be a challenge for Vietnamese export enterprises when they want to access and develop in the market.

In addition, Timor Leste and Vietnam do not have common trade agreements, while this country is not an official member of ASEAN, making it impossible for businesses on both sides to take advantage of incentives from FTAs.

According to Mr. Cuong, economic activities in Vietnam in the coming years will need more input items such as fuel (petrol), raw wood, raw seafood, minerals, metals, etc. These are also potential products in Timor Leste.

“By cooperating with Vietnam, Timor Leste's products will be important inputs for the production of goods, helping Timor Leste and Vietnam participate more deeply in the regional and global value chain,” Mr. Pham The Cuong shared with Mekong ASEAN.

Timor Leste also needs to promote cooperation with Vietnam in the fields of transportation, import and export, and seaports to support trade exchange activities.

Source: Mekongasean