Nguyễn Tuấn, deputy director of the HCM City Investment and Trade Promotion Centre, speaks at the Việt Nam-Poland trade promotion seminar on Wednesday in the city. — VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY — There is much room for Việt Nam and Poland to expand trade and investment ties, especially in cosmetics and beauty care products, experts said at a Việt Nam-Poland trade promotion seminar on Wednesday in HCM City.

Nguyễn Tuấn, deputy director of the HCM City Investment and Trade Promotion Centre (ITPC), said Poland was one of the first partners to establish diplomatic ties with Việt Nam.

It is Việt Nam’s largest trading partner in Eastern Europe, and Việt Nam is Poland’s seventh largest trading partner, he said.

Việt Nam is one of the most promising markets for Polish companies in Southeast Asia for retail sectors such as healthcare, cosmetics, mother and baby products, fashion, sports and food, he noted.

HCM City is home to 238 markets, 206 supermarkets, 49 shopping malls and 2,656 convenience stores, and it is expected to become a major distribution hub of the entire southeast region, according to Tuấn.

Cosmetics market

Maciej Śmigiel, an expert at the Polish Investment and Trade Agency in HCM City, said Asia is considered the world’s biggest cosmetics market, with nearly 660 million potential consumers and accounting for about 38 per cent of global revenue.

Hồ Thị Hạnh Ngân, manager of the Office of Polish Investment and Trade Agency, said Poland is now the fifth largest cosmetics producer in the EU and is seeking new markets, she said.

In the first nine months of the year, their bilateral trade reached more than US$2 billion, of which, Việt Nam’s exports were more than $1.8 billion and Việt Nam’s imports were $252.9 million.

The bilateral trade was worth nearly $2.6 billion last year, up 22 per cent year-on-year, of which, Việt Nam’s exports were more than $2.1 billion, up 17 per cent year-on-year, and Việt Nam’s imports were more than $500 million, up 49 per cent.

Việt Nam mainly exports footwear, textiles and garments, and agricultural goods such as cereals and coffee, while Poland exports dairy products, animal feed, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.

With important tax incentives brought about by the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), Việt Nam could access a wider EU market with its 500 million population, experts said.

The seminar was organised by the HCM City Investment and Trade Promotion Centre in collaboration with the Polish Investment and Trade Agency. — VNS