Tel Aviv (VNA) – Two-way trade between Vietnam and Israel hit around 899 million USD in the first 10 months of 2019, with Vietnam enjoying a trade surplus of 401 million USD.

According to Vietnamese Trade Counsellor in Israel Le Thai Hoa, footwear shipments to Israel reported a year-on-year surge of 21.5 percent in the 10 months, while cashew exports rose 1.2 percent. 

Vietnam’s aquatic exports to the market plunged 30.5 percent against the same period last year as Israel tightened safety regulations on imported food products.

Exports of coffee and garment-textiles also recorded decreases of 15.5 percent and 4.2 percent in the period, respectively.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese rice varieties and frozen shrimp have gained footholds in the Israeli market. 

The country’s export revenue to Israel is projected to surpass 800 million USD in 2019, a slight rise against last year, while imports will stand at about 300 million USD.

The trade counsellor noted that many businesses in Israel are eyeing cooperation with their Vietnamese counterparts in the fields of investment, start-ups, science-technology application, cyber security, telecommunications and information technology, fintech and agriculture, among others.

Some Israeli companies are looking at opening factories in the Southeast Asian nation to produce consumer goods by transferring their manufacturing bases from Vietnam’s neighbours to reduce production costs, he added.

Israel is among Vietnam’s top partners in the Middle East in terms of economic and science-technology cooperation.

Two-way trade surpassed 1.2 billion USD last year./.