Task huge for Vietnam to cut trade deficit with ASEAN
Hanoi (VNA) – The
task of cutting trade deficit with ASEAN is huge for Vietnam as it involves a
wide range of efforts from reforming technology to improving product quality, according
to trade officials.
With a population of over 600
million and a growing income, ASEAN is an important trade partner for Vietnam but
the problem the country faces is that it imports more than it exports.
Vietnam has been unable to
narrow the trade deficit, which has been about six billion USD since 2010.
By October, 2016, Vietnam’s
exports to ASEAN hit 14.2 billion USD but imported goods worth 19.1 billion USD
from the market, creating a deficit of around five billion USD so far this year.
Myanmar has been a bright point of
Vietnam’s exports to ASEAN countries, with export growth rate surging by 93.5
percent in 2013, 51.7 percent in 2014, 9.5 percent in 2015 and 22 percent by
the end of May, 2016.
According to experts, the
formation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) has facilitated trade among
member countries, allowing goods from other ASEAN countries to enter Vietnam
easily and pushing Vietnam’s import bill higher.
On the other hand, Vietnam’s
goods have not been very competitive internationally and faced fierce
competition and technical barriers to ASEAN markets, slowing down Vietnam’s
exports to ASEAN countries.
Another problem is that Vietnamese
enterprises lack information on clients and rivals to successfully penetrate
ASEAN markets, according to Pham Minh Hoa, from the Dong
Anh Electrical Equipment Corporation, adding the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) should do more to
help enterprises.
Pham Thu Hang, General Secretary
of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said to boost exports to
ASEAN, Vietnamese enterprises need to reform administration and build appropriate
business plans, boost linkages, improve competitiveness and capability to meet
market demands.
Enterprises should be flexible
and sensitive in identifying and seizing opportunities offered by the AEC to
create long-term plans.
An expert from the Department of
Processing and Trade for Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Products and Salt Production
under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, advised enterprises to
provide updates on legal regulations, especially food safety, and reform
technology to produce high-quality products.
A representative from the MoIT
said information on ASEAN markets will soon be published on ministry’s website.
The MoIT’s E-Commerce Department
also has a general information channel on markets as well as export-import
tariff charts.-VNA