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BBoreal Trade

Market · Vietnam

Exporting Canadian food to Vietnam

Agreement status and duty implication

In force: CPTPP. Global Affairs Canada lists the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership as in force between Canada and Vietnam. There is no separate bilateral Canada–Vietnam free trade agreement; Vietnam is also one of the ten ASEAN member states covered by the Canada–ASEAN FTA, which remains in negotiation and is not yet a source of preferential treatment.

Whether a preferential rate applies to your product on this route, and what it is: turns on two things: the agreement position for Vietnam, and where your specific tariff line sits within it. Both are published above and on every product page with the source they came from and the date we last checked. Where a figure reads "available on request", it means we have not yet verified that line against a primary source. It does not mean the duty is zero, and you should not plan a landed cost as though it were.

Registration pathway

  1. 01 · Confirm product classification

    Vietnam Ministry of Health

    Determines whether the product self-declares or requires registration before import.

    Typical duration: On request

  2. 02 · Appoint an in-market registration holder

    Commercial arrangement

    The filing is made by an entity established in-market. Settle who that will be, and what happens to the filing if the relationship ends, before the dossier is built.

    Typical duration: On request

  3. 03 · Compile the technical dossier

    Exporter and CFIA

    Product specification, testing results, certificate of free sale and CFIA export certification.

    Typical duration: On request

  4. 04 · Product self-declaration or registration filing

    Vietnam Food Administration

    Filing route depends on the classification determined at step 1.

    Typical duration: On request

  5. 05 · Label artwork approval

    Vietnam Food Administration

    Vietnamese-language secondary labelling must be approved before first shipment.

    Typical duration: On request

  6. 06 · Customs clearance and first import

    Vietnam Customs

    Preferential treatment, where it applies to your line, depends on the correct origin documentation accompanying the consignment.

    Typical duration: On request

Available on request: send your specification and destination and we'll confirm within five working days.

Who holds the registration

Ask this before you sign a distribution agreement: in whose name will the product filing be made, and what happens to it if the relationship ends? Across these markets the filing is commonly held by a locally established entity, and the obvious candidate is the distributor you are about to appoint. Where that is how it is done, the registration becomes an asset the distributor controls, and changing distributor can mean refiling from the beginning, with a fresh dossier, a fresh queue, and a supply gap while somebody else holds your shelf space. The distributor understands this, which is why the clause is often not raised. We confirm the actual holding position for Vietnam and your product category against the source, and tell you whether you are looking at a legal requirement or a negotiating position.

Logistics

Main ports: Cat Lai (Ho Chi Minh City), Hai Phong, Cai Mep

Transit from Vancouver: On request

Transit from Montreal: On request

Sources

Last reviewed: September 1, 2026