Analysts said that 2021 would be favourable for shrimp exports, thanks to more orders from abroad.(Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Industry and Trade) LeVan Diep, Deputy Director of Minh Phu Seafood Group, said the group wouldcontinue targeting choosy markets, especially the EU, to take advantage ofthe recently signed the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).
TruongDinh Hoe, Secretary General of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters andProducers (VASEP), said the EVFTA, which took effect last August, has opened upopportunities for shrimp exporters.
Shrimpexports reached 3.85 billion USD last year, up 15 percent year-on-year despitedifficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to VASEP. Shrimpexports are set to reach 4.4 billion USD this year, a rise of 15 percent over2020.
Analystssaid that 2021 would be favourable for shrimp exports, thanks to moreorders from abroad.
Alsoin January, the Ba Ria-Vung Tau Seafood Processing Import - Export JSC(Baseafood) exported its first eight containers of seafood, worth some 700,000USD, to Canada, the US, Australia and others.
Meanwhile,exports of vegetables and fruits reached only 3.26 billion USD last year, adrop of 13 percent year-on-year.
Chinaremains the largest export market of Vietnam’s vegetables and fruits,accounting for about 56 percent of market share, according to the Ministry ofAgriculture and Rural Development.
DangPhuc Nguyen, General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association,said that exports of vegetables and fruits plummeted last year due toa sharp fall of imports from China, a decrease of about 25 percentcompared to 2019.
Vegetablesand fruit exports depend heavily on the COVID-19 situation. Nguyenpredicted they would reach 3.7 billion USD this year.
Thefirst batches of seafood exports are a promising sign this year forexport prospects, especially the agricultural sector.
Exportsof farm produce reached more than 40 billion USD last year, a record figure.
Lastyear’s export growth of 6.5 percent can be viewed as a bright spot in thenation’s economic picture, with the growth attributed to the signing of anumber of free trade agreements (FTAs).
Thoughchallenges will continue this year due to the pandemic, a target of 42billion USD worth of total exports in 2021 has been set by the agriculturalsector.
New generation FTAs
Exportersneed to study the technical barriers of each country and region regardingproduct quality standards, labour factors, the environment, and other aspectsto respond to FTAs’ requirements in the fastest and most effective manner,experts said.
DoThang Hai, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, said participation inFTAs has helped the import and export market expand and diversify. FTAshave contributed to boosting the country’s GDP to more than 300 percentand increased import-export turnover by 350 percent, he said.
On January1, the UKVFTA, a bilateral FTA with the UK took effect, bringing thecountry’s total number of valid FTAs to 15.
Tocapitalise on market opportunities opened up by these FTAs, PM Nguyen Xuan Phuchas directed businesses to prepare to exploit existing and new FTAsto participate more deeply in global value chains.
Vietnamhas trade relations with more than 230 markets, including FTAs with 60economies.
Vietnam’sgoods exports were valued at 27.7 billion USD in January, up 0.2 percent fromthe previous month, and 50.5 percent from the same period last year, accordingto the General Statistics Office of Vietnam.
Sixitems enjoyed export revenues exceeding the 1-billion-USD benchmark last month,accounting for nearly 70 percent of total exports.
Vietnamhad a trade surplus of 1.3 billion USD in the month, accordingto the General Statistics Office of Vietnam./.
VNA
