Vietnamese businesses seized the opportunity at the SIAL 2025 agriculture and food exhibition to align with Canada's ongoing trend of diversifying markets and supply chains, participating with greater scale in both the number of enterprises and variety of products.
The Vietnamese companies showcased a wide range of goods, from raw input materials for production chains to high-value processed food products.
Goods on display at a supermarket in Vancouver, Canada (Photo: Xinhua/VNA)
Tran Thu Quynh, Trade Counsellor at the Embassy of Vietnam in Canada, said Vietnam had six enterprises participating as suppliers of raw input products such as rice and spices, as well as deep-processed items including dairy products and chocolate. These are new and creative product lines from Vietnam that the Canadian and broader American markets are not yet familiar with.
Roberto Magnato from the Canadian Export Development noted the significant interest in exploring opportunities for Canadian companies to export to and sell in Vietnam. Equally, there is strong demand among Canadian firms for sourcing raw materials and products from Vietnam for local processing and manufacturing.
He stressed the importance of leveraging existing free trade agreements such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) between Canada and Vietnam.
In recent years, Vietnam has exported over 10 billion USD worth of goods annually to Canada. Around 4 billion USD of this has been routed through US suppliers, given Canada’s reliance on its southern neighbour’s supply chain. Ongoing trade tensions between the two countries are opening up more direct opportunities for Vietnamese products to enter the Canadian market.
Sales Director of Lotus Rice Company Vu Thi Hue stated that their participation in the fair aims to reach more customers and partners. The company also seeks to better understand the market to attract a broader customer base, considering Canada’s significant size and potential.
Le Thi Hoai Thuong, Deputy General Director of the Viet Pepper Company, expressed the company’s desire to continue participating in future fairs and hoped for greater support from the Vietnam Trade Office in Canada and domestic agencies to help bring more Vietnamese products to the Canadian market.
In the first two months of 2025, Vietnam exported 1.7 billion USD worth of goods to Canada, up 12.9% compared to the same period last year. If this growth rate is sustained, Vietnam’s exports to the country can exceed 11 billion USD this year, with a trade surplus of approximately 10 billion USD.
This indicates that while tariff threats present challenges, they also offer opportunities for both sides to enhance market and supply chain diversification and reduce dependence on a single market.
