Vietnamese products on the shelves of a Canadian supermarket.

Vietnam exported 5.3 billion USD worth of goods to Canada in 2021, up 21 percent year-on-year despite facing challenges caused by the prolonged pandemic, according to the Vietnamese Trade Office in Canada.

This marked the third consecutive year that Vietnam has recorded positive export growth to the market since 2019 after both countries officially became members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

Among the major exports were handsets and components with 820 million USD; computers and parts with 408 million USD, and machinery and components with 345 million USD.

According to the office, the trend of shifting supply chains coupled with the impressive production capacity of local enterprises helped lure the great interest of Canadian businesses in the Vietnamese support industry products.

Meanwhile, garment, textile and footwear exports regained their growth momentum, rising 16.6 percent to nearly 1.4 billion USD, while furniture exports saw a yearly increase of 6.5 percent to 234 million USD thanks to the relationship between businesses of the two countries, in which Canada firms exported wood materials to Vietnam while Vietnamese companies produced and then exported finished wooden goods to Canada.

Exports of cashew nuts hit 111 million USD, up 20 percent while that of pepper and fresh fruits and vegetable topped 14 million USD and 35 million USD, up 45 percent and 18 percent, respectively.

Despite an increase in market demand, a lack of containers in recent years resulted in a shortage of supply for local agricultural products, typically fresh fruits to Canada last year, the office said.

Though Vietnam is now Canada's largest trading partner in Southeast Asia, there remains room for Vietnamese businesses to penetrate the market in the future as Vietnam’s market share accounts for a modest 1.7 percent of Canada's import value.

According to Vietnamese Ambassador to Canada Pham Cao Phong, to adapt to the new normal situation in the post-COVID period, businesses of the two countries needed to discuss the establishment of a common governance support centre, B2B model, research and development, after-sales service, digitisation and digital security./.