Israel has high demand for Vietnamese rice. — VNA/VNS Photo

TEL AVIV — Israeli businesses expressed their interest in seeking more goods supply sources from Việt Nam to meet the demand of domestic consumers at a trade promotion and business connection event in Tel Aviv on June 4.

They showed high demand for importing a number of products from Việt Nam such as rice and processed products, soft drinks, fruit juices, sauces of all kinds, seafood, confectionery, dried and canned fruits, as well as electronic household appliances, construction materials, cosmetics, and protective equipment.

The firms underlined that imported products must have Kosher certificate to ensure that they are suitable to the practice of Jewish consumers, and meet quality standards of Europe and the US, especially in food safety.

At the event, which was held by the Vietnamese Trade Office in Israel and the Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce (FICC) and gathered 30 Israeli firms, Director of the FICC’s International Relations and Business Development Department Sarit Fishbane said that amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, the Red Sea crisis and the Israel-Türkiye trade conflict, Israel is seeking more supply sources of goods to replace the broken ones.

She said that Israel is focusing on finding suppliers from Asia in general and Việt Nam in particular for domestic consumption.

Vietnamese Trade Counsellor Lê Thái Hòa briefed participants on the socio-economic development, foreign trade and strengths of Việt Nam as well as the structure of import-export products between the two countries and the prospect for two-way trade.

Hòa pointed to opportunities from the Vietnam-Israel Free Trade Agreement, which was approved by the two sides in early 2024 and is scheduled to become effective later this year.

At the event, the Vietnamese Trade Office in Israel introduced a number of Vietnamese exporters of agricultural and aquatic products, beverage and construction materials to Israeli firms to conduct detail transactions.

Statistics showed that in the first five months of 2024, trade between Việt Nam and Israel reached about US$1.1 billion, including $380 million worth of Việt Nam’s exports. — VNS