As many as 30 local processed food firms gathered at a trade exchange event held on November 20 in Ho Chi Minh City to seek export opportunities in Canada.

The three-day event takes place as part of activities held within the framework of the Memorandum of Cooperation Agreement signed between the Vietnam Trade Promotion (Vietrade) and the Canada’s Trade and Investment Promotion Agency, with the ultimate aim of improving the export capacity of Vietnamese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), especially SMEs owned by women.

Tran Thu Quynh, Vietnamese Trade Counselor in Canada, said that through participation in the programme, local SMEs were given the opportunity to join training courses and enhance linkages with Canadian buyers as a way of gaining greater insights into market information and customer tastes, thereby developing their products, improving their competitiveness, and gaining access to import markets.

The function also helped businesses to learn more about standards, quality, and new market requirements for demanding markets like Canada.

The organisation of direct business match sessions are expected to support Vietnamese SMEs as they develop sustainably towards fully tapping into fastidious export markets such as Canada and those based in the North American region, she noted.

VOV