Vietnam aims to become sustainable export country

Hanoi (VNA) – Businessmen, managers and economists discussed how to turn Vietnam into a trustworthy and sustainable exporting country at a forum in Hanoi on April 14.

Speaking at the Vietnam Investment Promotion Forum, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai described trade liberalisation as the main momentum of global trade over the past decades, especially in Asian countries, including Vietnam.

Since joining the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 2007, the country’s total trade turnover increased threefold, from 111.3 billion USD in the year to 327.8 billion USD in 2015. Of these figure, import revenue expanded 2.6 times and export value climbed 3.3 times to 165.7 billion and 162.4 billion USD, respectively, he said.

These numbers demonstrate that Vietnamese businesses have made the best use of opportunities afforded by integration and trade liberarisation to deliver their products abroad, the official noted.

However, the integration process has exerted diverse impacts on economic sectors, Hai said, explaining that home décor products, handbags, leather and footwear, garment-textiles and a number of agricultural products have received more benefits than others.

Also, he added, the enterprises which turn out high-quality products and have strong export promotion measures are likely to have better success.

Vo Tri Thanh, former Deputy Director of the Central Institute for Economic Management, said small-scale businesses with outdated technologies and weak management will find hard to compete with their foreign rivals.

Besides this, the domestic market is expected to witness fierce competition as a flurry of foreign products with competitive prices and quality will flood Vietnam, thanks to the present average import tax reduction of above 10 percent.

Strict requirements regarding product quality, technology and locally-made content set by foreign countries are the main barriers to local exporters, he said.

Meanwhile, Thanh pointed to many domestic enterprises that have yet to take the initiative in studying foreign markets and export promotion.

He, therefore, suggested Vietnamese firms improve their production and business capacity while raising their product quality to satisfy standards set by foreign markets.-VNA