Vietnam becomes Singapore's 10th largest trading partner
According to data from the Asia-Africa Market Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade), Singapore is currently a very important economic partner of Vietnam; at the same time, it is Vietnam's 4th largest trading partner in ASEAN and the second largest foreign investor in Vietnam.
In 2023, Vietnam and Singapore signed a Diplomatic Note to upgrade the Vietnam - Singapore Economic Connectivity Framework Agreement, in which energy cooperation between Vietnam and Singapore has become one of the five pillars of economic cooperation.
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| Vietnam continued to hold its position as Singapore's 10th largest trading partner in the first two months of the year. Illustrative photo |
Specifically analyzing the import-export situation between the two countries, the Vietnam Trade Office in Singapore said that in February 2024, the total import-export turnover between Vietnam and Singapore reached more than 2.26 billion SGD, down 9.48% over the same period in 2023. However, exports from Vietnam to Singapore continued to maintain a fairly good positive growth rate (up 8.05%) reaching 550.6 million SGD; in the opposite direction, import turnover decreased by nearly 14%, reaching more than 1.71 billion SGD.
In the first two months of 2024, the two-way import-export turnover between Vietnam and Singapore reached more than SGD 5.17 billion, up 4.18% over the same period in 2023, of which exports increased sharply by 19.32%, reaching nearly SGD 1.23 billion and imports were nearly SGD 3.94 billion, up 0.21%. With this figure, Vietnam continued to hold the position of Singapore's 10th largest trading partner in the first two months of the year.
Notably, according to statistics from the Trade Office, in February 2024, a series of export industries to Singapore had very strong growth rates such as: Iron and steel (up 32.85 times); petroleum and petroleum products (up nearly 1.45 times). In which, all 3 main export groups increased: Machinery, equipment, mobile phones, components and spare parts of all kinds (up 5.04%); reactors, boilers, machine tools and equipment and spare parts of the above machines (up 22%); petroleum and petroleum products (up nearly 1.45 times). On the contrary, some groups had quite strong declines such as: Iron and steel products (down 71.54%); glass and glass products (down 49.59%); plastics and plastic products (down 36.56%)...
Regarding the import of goods from the Singapore market, in February 2024, 11/21 commodity groups had negative import turnover; of which 2/3 of the main import groups decreased sharply compared to the same period: Machinery, equipment, mobile phones, components and spare parts of all kinds (down 22.64%) and reactors, boilers, machine tools and equipment and spare parts of the above machines (down 26.7%). On the contrary, some groups had very strong increases such as: Zinc and zinc products (up 1.26 times); pearls, precious stones and jewelry products (up 206.34%); cigarettes and tobacco substitutes (up 80.38%)...
Assessing the prospects for trade cooperation between Vietnam and Singapore in 2024, Mr. Cao Xuan Thang - Trade Counselor, Head of the Vietnam Trade Office in Singapore said that although the two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and Singapore in February 2024 decreased compared to the same period (down 9.48%), the positive point is that the export turnover from Vietnam to Singapore still maintained a fairly good growth rate (up 8.05%) and was quite even across all product groups. However, the long-term outlook for the whole year of 2024 still has many potential difficulties because the Singaporean Government is still very cautious about negative factors that will persist (at least until the end of the first half of 2024).
In 2024, to support Vietnamese businesses and goods to better penetrate the Singapore market, the Vietnam Trade Office said it will continue to update information, mechanisms and policies of the market; at the same time support Vietnamese businesses to connect trade and export goods to the Singapore market; support Singaporean business delegations to Vietnam to find sources of goods, promote industrial, trade and service investment in Vietnam.
Trade grows sustainably thanks to FTAs
In order to contribute to further developing the Vietnam - Singapore strategic partnership in a deeper and more substantial manner, in a recent meeting held at the headquarters of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien and Singaporean Minister of Industry and Trade Tan See Leng both agreed that, in addition to traditional areas of cooperation, the two countries need to expand cooperation to potential areas, including energy, digital economy, digital transformation, green economy, etc.
The two Ministers particularly emphasized the importance of cooperation in the energy sector. However, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien said that because Vietnam is new to the energy sector, it needs policy advice and hopes that Singapore can share its experience and provide consulting support in building relevant policy mechanisms, which will serve as a basis for promoting cooperation in energy and clean energy with Singapore and other countries.
At the same time, the two Ministers agreed to facilitate the expansion of economic - trade - energy cooperation, continue to contribute to the Vietnam - Singapore Strategic Partnership, towards upgrading bilateral relations to the level of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
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| At the talks held on March 20, 2024, the two Ministers agreed that, in addition to traditional areas of cooperation, the two countries need to expand cooperation to potential areas, including the energy sector. |
In the current context, Vietnam and Singapore also cooperate closely in regional and international forums such as ASEAN, APEC, WTO, especially within frameworks and mechanisms led by ASEAN. In addition, both countries are members of major Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP). And they are the only two members of ASEAN to sign free trade agreements with the UK and the European Union. This has created many favorable conditions for the business communities of the two countries to promote cooperation activities.
However, Singapore is a market with high and strict requirements on food hygiene and safety. The production, import, and trading of food... are strictly managed by the Singapore government and must comply with the Sales of Food Act 2002, which was amended and replaced by a number of articles on December 7, 2017, Food Regulations, Environmental Public Health Food Hygiene Regulations...
In addition to demands on product quality, especially food products, Singaporean consumers are also very sensitive to information related to food hygiene, clear and transparent origin and legal compliance of businesses.
Therefore, to take advantage of opportunities from FTAs, especially new generation FTAs such as CPTPP, EVFTA, UKVFTA... domestic export enterprises need to carefully research market information, focus on understanding the needs and tastes of consumers, local laws... for the products that enterprises intend to export.
At the same time, pay more attention to product packaging, ensure product quality, especially regulations on chemical ingredients and preservatives; pay attention to customs procedures and packaging to ensure the best transportation time to help preserve goods well. At the same time, build and implement a sustainable development strategy, diversify supply sources, cooperate to reduce costs, meet rules of origin, and promote sustainable exports to the Singapore market.
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