According to the Vietnamese commercial representative office in Cambodia, Vietnam-Cambodia trade value reached US$340mil over the past nine months, with Cambodia's trade deficit estimated at around $200mil.

A number of Vietnamese companies have opened their representative offices in Phnom Penh, including Trung Nguyen Coffee, Biti's, Vinamilk, Vifon, and MILIKET.

The fair will be open until November 17.

Capital to host international trade fair

Foreign and local firms have registered 400 stalls for the 16th Annual Vietnam International Trade Fair - one of the country's most important trade promotion activities, organisers announced yesterday at a press conference in Hanoi.

The international participants include South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Czech Republic, mainland China, Myanmar, Russia, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

The fair, known as Vietnam Expo 2006, will be held from April 5-9 at the Giang Vo Exhibition and Fair Centre in the capital.

[Vietnam trade fair - lifestyle-vietnam - 845]

Vietnam Expo 2006, whose theme is "Vietnam: Integration and Development," is jointly organised by the Ministry of Trade's Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency and the Vietnam National Trade Fair and Advertising Company (Vinexad).

The organisers hope that the number of participants will reach more than 870, up 20% from last year's expo, said Vinexad director Nguyen Khac Luan.

Also at the press conference, the Deputy Minister of Trade, Luong Van Tu, expressed that the fair would help the country notch up an export turnover of US$38bil this year, rising 18% from a year earlier.

Import taxes on many goods from the ASEAN block (Association of South East Asian Nations) will drop to 0-5% by 2013-15, as will products from China and Japan during or shortly after this period, Mr Tu added.

"Thus, local exporters have to make great efforts to obtain a firm foothold not only at the domestic but also the regional market," he said.

"Our exports to neighbouring countries still remain poor. To minimise the country's import surplus, the enterprises have to boost exports to these nations," said the deputy minister.

Specifically, Vietnamese firms should also invest in neighbouring nations such as Laos and Cambodia that will likely enjoy the zero import levies offered by developed nations of the WTO (World Trade Organisation) under agreements at the 6th WTO Ministerial Meeting in Hong Kong in mid-December, he said.

The expo will mainly feature wooden furniture, handicrafts, agro-products, processed food, electronics, information technology, machinery, textiles and garments, construction materials and fashion products.

Seminars such as "Controlling quality of export goods" and "Designing and developing products" will also take place during the expo.

According to the organisers, the total value of contracts signed by local and overseas participants at the Vietnam Expo 2005 reached more than $286mil.

[Home accessories in Vietnam - handmadevn - 120]

The annual expo has seen solid growth in recent years, with deals totalling $160mil in 2001, $211mil in 2002, $253mil in 2003 and $275mil in 2004.

At the expo, the State offices - ministries of trade, science and technology and directorate of measuring and quality - will award a golden medal to the best locally - made products.