Vietnamese agricultural, aquatic and food products are increasingly appearing in large supermarket chains in Japan such as AEON, Donkihote, Itoyokado, 100 Yen stores, etc. Japan is currently Vietnam's 4th largest trading partner with bilateral trade turnover in 2024 reaching 48.18 billion USD. Of which, Vietnam's exports to the Japanese market reached 24.59 billion USD, up 5.6% over the same period in 2023.

Currently, Vietnam mainly exports to Japan products such as: textiles, crude oil, seafood, wood and wood products, coal, footwear... and imports from Japan items serving industrial production such as machinery, equipment, electronic components, fabrics, textile raw materials, chemicals and auto parts...

In contrast, the value of imported goods from Japan reached 21.59 billion USD, down 0.2% over the previous year. Therefore, in 2024, the trade balance will tilt in Vietnam's favor with a trade surplus of 3 billion USD, higher than the trade surplus of 1.7 billion USD in 2023.

At the Workshop "Connecting supply chains and meeting the market", a representative of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said that Japan is a country with a developed industry, modern agriculture and many advantages in applying scientific and technological advances to agricultural production.

However, the Japanese market still has to import a large amount of agricultural and aquatic products because Japanese agriculture can only meet over 45% of domestic demand. Therefore, this is one of many opportunities for Vietnamese enterprises to access and exploit.

Japan is a market with a large demand for importing and consuming foreign agricultural and aquatic products and food, including fish and processed fish products, shrimp, eel, meat and meat products, soybeans, cereal products, fresh and processed vegetables, coffee, etc. Vietnam is considered a country with strengths in the above-mentioned products and has the ability to supply well to the Japanese market.

Along with the innovation in consumer tastes, Japanese people are increasingly interested in high-quality products imported from abroad. Vietnamese agricultural, aquatic and food products are increasingly appearing with a variety of types on the shelves of major supermarket chains in Japan, such as AEON, Donkihote, Itoyokado, 100 Yen stores, etc.

According to the representative of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, the encouraging sign is that Vietnamese fruit and vegetable exporting enterprises have been getting used to and adapting well to the Japanese market after some Vietnamese fruits were welcomed by the Japanese market such as: dragon fruit, mango, durian, coconut, lychee, longan, banana. Of which, dragon fruit and banana are favored by Japanese people.

At the Supermarket Trade Show 2025, the Vietnam Trade Office in Japan met, discussed work and visited the booths of many large Japanese companies specializing in importing, distributing and trading food and beverage products originating from Vietnam including rice, vermicelli, instant pho, rice paper, fish sauce, spices, coffee, wine, beer, milk and coconut water...

Given the potential and opportunities for cooperation, the Vietnam Trade Office in Japan recommends that Vietnamese enterprises also need to pay attention to some specific characteristics of the market so that exporting and selling are effective and sustainable. Japanese consumers are highly sensitive to the constant changes in the selling price of a product, so Japanese importers always value the stability of prices and supply from Vietnamese partners.

Vietnamese products must first ensure good quality to meet Japan's strict food safety regulations, and also need to have a variety of tastes to suit the Japanese, and improvements in packaging design to be eye-catching and attractive to consumers. In addition, more attention should be paid to promoting and introducing brands and products.

Source: Doanh Nghiep Hoi Nhap Magazine