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Viet Nam-Japan trade tops $25b

Fimex Viet Nam workers process shrimp for export to Japan. Customs statistics showed bilateral trade between Vietnam and Japan was worth around US$25.6 billion in 2013

The bilateral trade between Viet Nam and Japan was about US$25.6 billion in 2013, according to the General Department of Customs.

Of the total, Viet Nam's commodity exports to Japan reached $13.6 billion, a rise of 4 per cent per year, while imports from Japan were valued at $11.6 billion, a year-on-year increase of 0.7 per cent.

Viet Nam's major commodity exports to Japan included garment-textiles, crude oil, vehicles and accessories.

Meanwhile, the country mainly imported machinery, spare parts, computers, and iron. Steel, fabric and electronic products were also among the imports from Japan.

The Viet Nam-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement, which took effect in October 2009, has helped Vietnamese goods, especially farm produce, garment products and seafood, to penetrate Japan's market.

Japan is the largest source of Official Development Assistance (ODA) for Viet Nam, providing JPY200 billion ($1.96 billion) each year, or 30 per cent of the ODA inflows into the country.

It is currently Viet Nam's largest foreign investor, injecting $5.7 billion into the country in the first 11 months of 2013, accounting for 26.7 per cent of the country's total foreign investment