Vietnam’s export sector has so far this year earned about 150 billion USD, up 13.6 percent against the previous year, the Nhan Dan (People) online newspaper reported.

In 2014, Vietnam's export activities have focused on manufactured goods accounting for 73 percent of the total export volume, followed by agricultural (15 percent) and mineral exports (6 percent).

Export growth helped stimulate GDP growth, create jobs and reduce inventories. These results have reflected that the Government’s export strategy is on the right track.

It has helped curbing trade deficit as Vietnam continued to maintain a trade surplus in 2014, projected at 1.5 billion USD.

In recent years, foreign-invested enterprises have made significant contributions to economic and export growth. In 2014, this sector remains a key player in export value and growth.

Revenue from foreign companies was estimated at 101.8 billion USD in 2014, up 15.4 percent over the previous year and accounting for more than two thirds of the country’s total earnings.

Main export products have included phones, computers, electronic devices, and cameras, among other things.

Vietnamese Government regards foreign direct investment (FDI) as an important source to drive economic development. The Government and relevant ministries have introduced many measures to attract, manage and streamline FDI. Vietnam has prioritised FDI projects which are high-tech, environmentally friendly products.

Recently enterprises have taken advantage of multilateral and bilateral economic integration opportunities to boost export growth. The total export value of goods with a certificate of origin is on the rise, reaching 19.3 billion USD in the first nine months of 2014, a year-on-year rise of 94 percent.

Vietnam is actively negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), an FTA with the EU and the European Free Trade Association (FTA), which comprises Norway , Iceland , Switzerland and Liechtenstein . The country has also recently concluded negotiations of trade deals with the Republic of Korea and the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan .

These trade pacts are expected to bring about many opportunities for Vietnamese exports, creating a foundation for the domestic manufacturing sector to join global supply chains.

A number of Vietnam ’s major exports such as garments, footwear, seafood and agricultural produce are still being levied high tax in some major markets.

However, the question is how enterprises can take advantage of these FTAs to boost exports and expand their market. Currently there are enterprises that do not pay enough attention to tariff preferences. The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) should help businesses fully understand FTAs’ content so that enterprises can fully take advantage of those FTAs. The MOIT should also co-ordinate with relevant ministries and agencies to work out measures to attract investment in export supply chains in order to increase the localisation rate and value for export products.

However, raw material issue are a key problem for manufacturing goods for exports as the country has relied heavily on imported raw materials. The country is also expected to face more anti-dumping lawsuits and increased competition in the global market.

In order to achieve the 2015 export target of more than 160 billion USD, up 10 percent against 2013, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and relevant ministries and agencies should focus on measures to support enterprises, remove difficulties for farmers and encourage foreign companies to invest in high-tech and environmentally friendly projects.

They should also work together to increase trade promotion activities, help the business community to take advantage of free trade agreements, timely provide market forecasts and up-to-date information on export markets while further simplifying administrative measures to reduce customs costs and clearance time.-VNA