HCM City (VNA) – A seminar was held in Ho Chi Minh Cityon December 4 to seek measures to promote imports and exports between Vietnamand Poland.

The seminar “Import-export opportunities for Vietnamese and Polish businesses” wasco-held by the Investment and Trade Promotion Centre of HCM City and the PolishInvestment and Trade Agency in HCM City (PAIH).

Cao Thi Phi Van, Deputy Director of the Investment and TradePromotion Centre, said that Vietnam and Poland had a long business history butthe latter had not invested much in the former.

Polandis the sixth largest country in the EU, with a GDP per capita of around 13,800 USDin 2017.

Witha large, skilled labour force, the country ranked 24thon the World Bank Group’s Doing Business list last year, accordingto Piotr Harasimowicz, chief representative officer of PAIH.

According to Krzysztof Hajlasz, business development manager of PAIH, Vietnammainly exports electronics and equipment, footwear, textiles and agriculturalgoods such as coffee, pepper, coconut and cashew to Poland.

Meanwhile, Poland mainly exports animal products, pharmaceuticals and cosmeticsto Vietnam.

According to Hajlasz, Poland imports a great deal of rice, fruit and oilproducts from other European countries but very little from Vietnam, which ishighly capable of supplying these products.

For instance, many of the rice products that Poland imports every year fromEuropean countries are also imported from Vietnam to such countries, thenpackaged in smaller bags and sold to Poland.

Vietnam also imports a great deal of meat, wood and hard liquor from manycountries, but very little from Poland directly, despite their high quality.

Thelack of a free trade agreement has limited direct trading, but the EU-VietnamFTA is expected to change the situation next year.

"Inaddition, Vietnamese and Polish companies do not understand each otherwell," Hajlasz said. As such, PAIH wants to help both sides learn moreabout one another and facilitate direct trade, removing intermediaries.

Vietnam and Poland’s bilateral trade totalled around 1.05 billion USD lastyear.-VNA