Vietnamese products have been sold in China, the world’s largest consumer market. At the recent China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO), Vietnamese pavilion was the second largest only after host China. Vietnamese milk, farm produce, processed foods, wood furniture, and garments impressed the Chinese consumers.

The TH True Milk brand of the TH Group, for example, has penetrated the Chinese market and is a popular foreign brand there. Duan Xiaoyu, director general of a trade company in Beijing, spoke highly of the high quality and geographical advantage of TH diary products.

“I think Vietnamese dairy products have a clear transportation advantage over European and American products. Transported by sea or road, it takes about a week to reach China. Vietnamese dairy products offer better freshness,” said Duan.

Vietnamese products are also penetrating the US market. The Ministry of Industry and Trade says that in the past eight months, Vietnam earned 78 billion USD from exports to the US, up 25% from last year. Vietnam’s trade surplus with the US is an estimated 68 billion USD, up 28%.

Vietnamese exports are available in many EU countries since the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) eliminated most tariff barriers. For the past four years, France’s largest retail systems, like Carrefour, Leclerc, and Système-U, have held "Vietnamese Goods Week" events around major holidays – Lunar New Year, Mid-Autumn Festival, and Christmas.

Vu Anh Son,  head of the Vietnamese Trade Office in France, gave credit to the Trade Office’s collaboration with importers and distributors, and a practical bottom-up approach. According to Son,“In this model, the first benefit for Vietnam is a better image in the eyes of international consumers. The second benefit is an opportunity for Vietnamese businesses to reach the consumers in France’s hypermarkets, which have very strict standards.”

The same model is proving effective in other markets like Russia, India, and the Middle East. In September, at Worldfood Moscow 2024, Russia’s largest and most prestigious annual international food and drink exhibition, Vietnamese products made their strong presence.

Dmitry Zavgorodniy, CEO of the ITE Exhibition and Event Group, said Russia recognizes the remarkable progress Vietnamese goods have made in the Russian market, a factor that helped raise bilateral trade turnover by 51% in the first half of this year, exceeding 1.96 billion USD compared to the same period last year.

In India, Vietnam was named one of three "Focus Countries" at World Food India late last year.

E-commerce platforms is another area that has seen the growth of Vietnamese products. Data from Amazon Global Selling Vietnam showed that the number of Vietnamese products sold on Amazon, the world's largest e-commerce platform, tripled in the 2019-2023 period. The number of Vietnamese businesses achieving annual sales of 1 million USD on Amazon increased 10-fold and the number of Vietnamese sales partners using Amazon's order fulfillment tripled.

According to Tran Minh Tuan, Director of the Digital Economy and Digital Society Department at the Ministry of Information and Communications, cross-border e-commerce is creating strong momentum for Vietnamese goods.

“The core of cross-border e-commerce is digital technology. This has been a major trend in recent years and we have correctly assessed its development. I completely agree with the Government’s e-commerce plan, which considers cross-border e-commerce a great opportunity to export our goods to the world,” Tuan noted.

As Vietnam is integrating more deeply into the global economy, Vietnamese products’ greater presence in traditional markets and new markets shows their extending global reach.