HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam’s import of palm oil and paper from Indonesia could experience a year-on-year increase of 38 per cent, Indonesian ambassador to Việt Nam Ibnu Hadi said on Wednesday.

While addressing a seminar held by the Indonesian Embassy in Việt Nam with the aim of linking the two countries’ businesses in the trade of palm oil and paper, the ambassador said that imports in palm oil and paper last year rose by 20 per cent.

The figure is predicted to be 38 per cent this year, which shows a promising opportunity for co-operation between the two countries.

He said that Indonesia would supply its products at competitive prices to meet Việt Nam’s demand for development.

Indonesian firms hope Vietnamese enterprises and associations would visit their factories to seek information and partners, he added.

Phạm Quốc Mạnh, public relations official at the Indonesian Embassy said that last year, Indonesia ranked 14th in the word in terms of export of paper, mostly printing paper, with revenue of US$3.2 billion.

Indonesia is also the world top exporter of palm oil as the country provides 36 million tonnes out of total 56 million tonnes exported by countries around the world, or 62 per cent, he added.

The ambassador said that last year, paper was the third largest item that Indonesia exported to Việt Nam with revenue of $181 million, followed by animal and plant oil with $161 million.

Ambassador Ibnu Hadi said that relations between Việt Nam and Indonesia have been growing. In 2016, two-way trade reached $5.6 billion, he noted, added that the two sides agreed to lift up the figure to $10 billion in 2018.

This year’s bilateral trade revenue is expected to reach $7.8 billion.

In order to strengthen the Việt Nam-Indonesia co-operation, especially when the ASEAN Economic Community has been formed and the region has experienced many significant changes, the two sides should increase the exchange of information and investment promotion as well as the connectivity among businesses, thus improving the competitiveness of ASEAN enterprises, he said.

Việt Nam mostly exported to Indonesia telephones, iron, steel, machineries, equipment, rice, computer, electronics and spare parts, garment, leather and footwear materials, vehicles, plastics and plastic material. — VNS