Addressing a conference on next year’s export plan held on December 19, Deputy PM Hai highlighted this year’s export results which he described as a strong driving force for the coming year. “It is necessary to perfect the market economic mechanism and create an equal and healthy business environment for both domestic and foreign businesses to successfully implement next year’s export plan,” he emphasised. He also pointed to the need to improve the effectiveness of trade promotion activities, personnel resources development and the operation of trade associations.

“Viet Nam’s increased position and role on the international arena are an important factor directly affecting the possibilities for Viet Nam’s production and exports in the coming time,” he noted. The Ministry of Industry and Trade is targeting an export revenue of over 58 billion USD for 2008, a year-on-year increase of 20-22 percent. To this goal, the ministry will focus on improving the quality of traditional export items, expanding production scale, renovating technology and promoting the export of big earners, labour-intensive items and those having great potential, such as textile and garment, footwear, furniture, electronic components, handicraft and rubber products, processed foodstuff and software services.

Crude oil, garment, footwear, electronic and computer components, woodwork, rice, coffee, rubber and mechanical products are forecast to attain high growth rates in 2008. In particular, handicraft products and electric and cable wire are expected to join the group of products recording 1 billion USD in export revenues.

The ministry said that Japan, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), China, the Republic of Korea, the European Union (EU), the US and Australia will remain key importers of Vietnamese products in 2008. Exports to Africa and southwestern Asia are predicted to surge by around 54 percent from 2007 to reach 2.8 billion USD due to the regions’ stable trade policy and favourable market conditions for Viet Nam’s goals.

The Ministry also announced that the nation earned 48 billion USD from exports this year, a year-on-year rise of 20.5 percent or 3 percent higher than the yearly plan set by the Government. The foreign-invested sector earned 27.3 billion USD, accounting for approximately 57 percent of the country’s total export value. Ten commodities fetching more than 1 billion USD in export turnover are seafood, rice, coffee, rubber, crude oil, textile and garment, footwear, electronic and computer components, woodwork and mechanical products.

(Source: Vietnam Agency 20/12/2007)