Ha Noi (VNA) – The Ministry of Trade and Industry predicts the nation’s plastics export revenues are likely to hit 1 billion USD this year, a year-on-year rise of 42.9 percent.

Although its turnover only reached 750 million USD in 2007, plastics is an export item expected to experience a high export growth rate due to big import markets, the ministry said.

Viet Nam’s plastics products sell well in international markets due to their high competitiveness, good quality and diversity of modern patterns.

Each year, the European Union imports more than 500,000 tonnes of plastic wrapping from Viet Nam. Japan imports 480,000 tonnes. Viet Nam’s share in these markets is however still small. Viet Nam’s plastics only accounts for less than 1 percent of the US market share, almost 3 percent of Japan’s, and around 5 percent of the EU.

The ministry suggests plastics businesses renovate their production technology to lower production costs and turn out high value-added products to reach this year’s targets.

Plastics are currently exported to Australia, Cambodia, France, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan and the US.

<>The ministry says that in addition to existing markets, plastics businesses should access new EU members such as the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary and Poland as well as African and Middle Eastern countries.- Enditem

Source: Vietnam News Agency (VNA) 03/19/08