Processing of tra fish for exports. Illustrative photo. (Source: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnam has boosted exports to new markets overthe last couple of months as part of solutions to tackle production andbusiness difficulties and promote overseas shipments amid the COVID-19 pandemic,Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh has said.
In a recent interview with the Vietnam News Agency, Anh cited figures showingthat in the first four months the country’s exports to America rose 22 percentyear-on-year to 19 billion USD, including Canada 975 million USD (up 13percent), Mexico 798 million USD (61 percent), Brazil 511 million USD (11percent), and Chile 287 million USD (93 percent). Shipments to Argentina also rose55 percent, Colombia 93 percent, Panama 73 percent, and Peru 82 percent.
Vietnam also recorded strong growth in exports to markets such as China,worth 9.35 billion USD (up 22.8 percent), Japan 5 billion USD (7.8 percent),and Australia 924 million USD (11.6 percent).
Markets with falling export revenue were primarily in Europe, which hasbeen hit hard by COVID-19, he said, noting that exports during the period tothe EU, including the UK, fell 5.7 percent from a year earlier to 9.61 billionUSD.
Goods shipped to France totalled 771.6 million USD (down 19 percent),Italy 758.7 million USD (down 17.4 percent), Spain 551.6 million USD (down 6.4percent), and the UK 1.28 billion USD (down 6.6 percent).
Anh said that due to the pandemic, many importers in the US and in the EUdelayed delivery or even cancelled orders as cities were placed on lockdown andpeople were requested to stay at home.
Stricter quarantine measures have affected logistics and customsclearance activities while the suspension of goods entering and exitingcountries has also hampered transactions between Vietnamese companies andpartners, he added.
To bolster exports, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has beenpushing ahead with solutions to seek new markets, he noted, adding that it isworking to resume trade with China, the Republic of Korea (RoK), and Japan, andis preparing to enforce the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) once it takeseffect.
The MoIT has submitted to the Government a draft action plan on implementingthe EVFTA that clarifies targets, main tasks, and relevant parties.
Anh said the ministry has also built trade promotion plans; assistedbusinesses to boost exports, especially to markets that may soon have the outbreakunder control, like the RoK, Japan, and China; and has pressed on with onlinetrade promotion activities.
To opportunely provide market information and remove obstacles facingexporters, the MoIT has set up mechanisms to ensure smooth contact via the internetamong trade counsellors, the ministry’s departments, business associations,local trade promotion centres, and enterprises nationwide, he said.
Highlighting the domestic market’s importance, he pointed out that thepotential from the country’s 90 million people hasn’t been fully tapped into.
The MoIT has directed relevant agencies to devise concrete plans andsolutions to promote domestic trade, especially when the COVID-19 pandemic isover, he said, adding that the local market needs to be considered an importantdriving force of growth in 2020 and subsequent years./.
VNA
