Export businesses sanguine, make frenetic start to 2017

HCM City (VNA) - After the Tet (the Lunar New Year) break, employees of Intimex Group Joint Stock Company are scrambling to fulfil export orders.

The company achieved export revenues of 60 million USD last month and is expected to exceed the 100 million USD mark in the first two months of the year, much higher than in the same period last year.

Do Ha Nam, the company’s chairman and general director, said: “Orders to export rice to China are much higher compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile coffee export has entered the main season with many large contracts.

“Exports of rice and coffee may face difficulties this year, but the signals at the beginning of the year are rather positive.”

Pham Thai Binh, director of the Can Tho city-based Trung An Hi-Tech Farming JSC, a major rice exporter, said his company officially resumes work on February 6, but its staff began to work on the 31st to carry out export orders.

His company is rushing to fulfil two orders for high-grade rice from China and Malaysia, with 6,000 tonnes to be shipped to China, he said. 

China and Malaysia are traditional customers, he said.

Though this year rice exports are set to face more difficulties due to a global glut, Trung An has set itself a target of 30 percent export growth this year, with focus on high-grade rice products, he said.

The company has established a closed rice value chain from growing to exports and obtained certification from the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements, he added.

Tran Van Linh, chairman of Thuan Phuoc Seafood and Trading Corporation, said his company’s order book is full until the end of the first quarter.

It resumed work on February 2 to fulfil those orders, he said.

In the case of the garment and textile sector, many insiders forecast exports to be modest this year, but Garmex Sai Gon Joint Stock Company targets higher export growth than last year.

Le Quang Hung, its chairman, said the company achieved export revenues of nearly 6 million USD last month.

The US is the company’s key export market, accounting for 50 percent of exports, he said, adding that Garmex Sài Gòn is actively seeking new partners to expand its markets.

The US withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal is expected to affect Vietnam’s export growth eventhough Vietnam’s exports to the US climbed 15 percent to 38.5 billion USD last year.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnam took advantage of many free trade agreements to boost exports last year.

The Vietnam-Korea FTA, for instance, helped Vietnam’s exports to the Republic of Korea rise by 29 percent last year, it said.

It added it would step up trade promotion activities to help companies expand their export markets and increase exports to countries that have FTAs with Vietnam.-VNA