Electronic circuit boards being tested at a factory in Bac Ninh province. (Photo: VNA) In 2021, exports of computers, electronic products and components earned Vietnam50.8 billion USD, making it the secondbiggest export group, according to the General Department of Customs.
Export turnover of this group of goods last year grew 14.1% year-on-year,equivalent to an increase of 6.3 billion USD, accounting for over 15% of thenation's total export turnover.
The US market was the biggest for this group of goods from Vietnam, accountingfor 25% of exports. Exports to mainland China reached nearly 11.1 billion USD,although only increased by less than 1% and accounted for 21.83% of the totalexport turnover of the whole industry.
The third largest market was Hong Kong, which grew by 50%, bringing turnover to6.3 billion USD. The EU came fourth with 5.9 billion USD, up 2.6%, and theRepublic of Korea ranked fifth, reaching 3.5 billion USD, up nearly 22%.
Four other markets with export turnover from 1 billion USD to 2 billion USD werethe Netherlands with 1.8 billion USD, up 5.2%; Mexico (1.4 billion USD, up 17.4%);Poland (1.1 billion USD, up 14.9%) and Slovakia (1.0 billion USD, up 27.7%).
In addition, there were a series of markets with import turnover of nearly 1billion USD, including Japan (996 billion USD), Taiwan (938 million USD),Singapore (924 million USD), and India (828 million USD).
In 2021, Vietnam’s exports of computers, electronic products and components tothe UK also saw an encouraging increase of 5.6% year-on-year. This group ofgoods was also among the list of key industrial products of Vietnam exported tothe UK. That also included phones and components; machinery, equipment and spareparts, and steel and iron.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade said tariff preferences under the UK-VietnamFree Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) are providing many Vietnamese products, typicallycomputers, electronic products and components, with competitive advantagescompared with similar products from other countries.
Under the trade pact, 74% of tariffs on computers, electronic products andcomponents imported from Vietnam have been eliminated since January 1, 2021while tariffs on all other products will be removed after two or four years.
In addition, Vietnamese exporters can also utilise the UK’s increasing demandfor these products to foster their exports to this lucrative market, tradeexperts said.
The UK Department for International Trade said that out of the UK's top 10imported products in 2021, electronic equipment ranked fifth with a turnover of45.1 billion GBP (52.7 billion USD), up 3% year-on-year. In the second quarterof this year, the UK's electronic equipment saw a yearly hike of 15.7% tosurpass 12.5 billion GBP.
Nguyen Canh Cuong, trade counsellor at Vietnam's Embassy to the UK, told Viet NamNews that the UK does not have its own consumer electronics manufacturingindustry. All consumer electronics products available in the market areimported.
Market demand is huge and is constantly increasing, especially for smartphones,tablets, laptops and PCs, Cuong said, adding that that will createopportunities for Vietnam's consumer electronics products.
He told Viet Nam News that Vietnam’s exports of consumer electronics productsto the UK will surge in the near future.
Despite a bright outlook for this group of goods to the UK, more support fromthe State and greater efforts from Vietnamese exporters are needed amid thecountry's participation in many free trade agreements, experts have suggested.
In order to facilitate exports of computers, electronic products and componentsto overseas markets including the UK, the General Statistics Office underlinedthe need to provide support for firms in the process of researching newproducts, launch trade promotion schemes, and fine-tune the legal system,especially specific regulations placed on goods of Vietnamese origin.
Simultaneously, it is essential to boost export market expansion, improve theoperational efficiency of Vietnam's representative agencies abroad and sectorassociations in implementing trade promotion activities whilst disseminatingthe details of the FTAs so that businesses could utilise the opportunitiesbrought by these FTAs.
The export turnover of computers, electronic products and components isforecast to continue to grow strongly this year and the export milestone of 60billion USD is not out of reach, according to experts./.
VNA
