The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a significant export market for Vietnam due to its geographic proximity. Businesses may take advantage of the COVID-19 epidemic disruptions, which are having  significant influences on the global supply chain, disrupting the transportation of goods between nations and raising logistical costs. Businesses can use these circumstances to produce new products and services. This market is served by exporters.

After the United States, China, and the European Union, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is Vietnam's fourth largest export market (EU). As a result of the negative consequences of the Covid-19 epidemic, the import and export of commodities between Vietnam and ASEAN had a minor dip in 2020, falling 6.8 percent from the previous year to reach 53.6 billion US dollars. In 2021, trade between Vietnam and ASEAN will have recovered and regained its development momentum. Two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and ASEAN will reach 56.6 billion USD in the first ten months of 2021, representing a 30 percent increase over the same time last year. The above-mentioned outcomes are the result of efforts to better understand and capitalize on the advantages and possibilities that the ASEAN market area provides. As a geographically proximate market, ASEAN allows firms to save on transportation and storage expenses. Businesses may also pick between several ways of transporting products, such as sea, road, and air transport to save on transportation costs. ASEAN is a region characterized by cultural variety while maintaining a sense of general unity. Despite the fact that each nation has its unique traditions and customs, they all share a common agrarian cultural heritage, which means that habits and consumer tastes are closely related, overlap, and share many similarities. As a result, Vietnamese goods have the potential to enter and become popular in the ASEAN market, as long as they match the market's quality and price requirements.

Furthermore, selling to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is the first step for Vietnamese goods to continue to reach other markets with higher and more demanding standards. Most imports and exports between ASEAN nations now benefit from zero percent tariff advantages under the  zero percent goods trade agreement, as well as certain additional special goods incentives under bilateral agreements with Laos and Cambodia that Vietnam has signed. Additionally, ASEAN countries will accelerate the implementation of post-pandemic economic recovery measures such as commitments on market opening, supply chain assurances and trade facilitation in the coming months. These are extremely favorable conditions for Vietnamese companies to further exploit the potential of this market area. Mr. Nguyen Phuc Nam, Deputy Director of the Asia-Africa Market Department, Ministry of Industry and Trade, made the following statement at the international conference "Introduction of new Import-Export Management Regulations and trade opportunities with ASEAN markets in the post-COVID-19 period," which took place online and in-person on November 26: The COVID-19 pandemic has made a profound impact on the global supply chain, affecting the cost of transporting goods between countries in ASEAN.”

Mr. Nam, on the other hand, stated that many firms,  have not given enough attention to this market or have not comprehended the specifics of the particular industry, in particular since the start of the COVID-19 epidemic. Because ASEAN nations are now in the process of recovering, there are significant demand for c commodity imports, notably food. Thailand and Singapore are two of the most popular destinations in the world. Thailand is now Vietnam's most important commercial partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Thailand's overall import-export trade has reached over $443 billion by the end of January 10, 2021, according to the country's statistics department, representing a 23 percent increase over the same time in 2020. It is worth noting that the categories of imported items have expanded. The significant increase in the rate of growth from 8 percent to more than 100 percent is mostly due to the increase in raw materials and manufacturing machinery. Mr. Tran Thi Thanh My, Vietnam Trade Counselor in Thailand, stated, "This is a solid indication that Thailand's manufacturing industry has rebounded significantly." Thai officials also stated that they have reduced import and export laws in order to make commerce more accessible and to restart manufacturing and supply chains to fulfill the growing demand for products and services throughout the world. Vietnam's exporters will benefit greatly from this development. While this is happening, the import and export turnover of Vietnam and Singapore has also been steadily increasing. Vietnam's export turnover to the Singapore market was 4.1 billion Singapore dollars ($2.99 billion) in 2016, it is expected to reach 5.5 billion Singapore dollars ($5.5 billion) in 2020, an increase from 2016. (4.01 billion dollars). If solely imported commodities originating in Singapore are taken into consideration, 2020 will be the first time that Vietnam has enjoyed a trade surplus of around 1 billion USD (730 million USD). Vietnamese products exported to this market surged by 31% in the first nine months of 2021, resulting in an excess of around 600 million Singapore dollars ($437 million) during this period.

Lychee has entered the top 10 fruit and vegetable products with high export value of Vietnam to Singapore

It must also be noted that Singapore is a very strong transit market for imported goods into Vietnam. Ms. Tran Thu Quynh, Commercial Counselor in Singapore, said that Singapore is currently aiming to be 30% self-sufficient in food by 2030, even though the country has no agriculture industry. Therefore, in order to realize this ambitious goal, the demand for cooperation in food production in the lion island nation is huge. Currently, Singapore is very interested in the ability to coordinate farming expertise and technology to its country. Therefore, farms and farm enterprises have many cooperation opportunities in this field. However, although there are many opportunities, there are also many challenges when exporting to this market. According to Mr. Nguyen Phuc Nam, in order to cope with the epidemic as well as support domestic production, ASEAN countries have issued many new policies and regulations relating to economic trade, import and export, customs clearance, and epidemic prevention, which in turn affects the export of goods from Vietnam. "Some regulations on epidemic prevention can change very quickly and suddenly, making it difficult for businesses to capture timely, complete, and accurate information," Nam emphasized. Tran Thi Thanh My also shared that, in the past one year, the Vietnam l embassy in Thailand has received many complains and petitions, which is around 2-3 times higher than before the pandemic, about fraudulent businesses activities and are mainly about businesses impersonating reputable Thai businesses to defraud Vietnamese businesses. Ms. My suggested that whenever businesses see suspicious signals, they should contact the embassy so they can verify it and prevent risks.