Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam exported goods to 200 countries and territories worldwidein 2018, including 50 major markets, Sai Gon Giai phong (Liberated Saigon)daily reported.

Vietnam would increase its export turnover if the country knows how to optimiseadvantages generated by free trade agreements (FTAs)  it has signed, said Trinh Thi Thu Hien, headof the product origin bureau under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT)’sExport-Import Department.

The country’s export to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)exceeded 21 billion USD last year, while that to China hit nearly 36 billionUSD and to Japan was close to 17 billion USD. The Republic of Korea (RoK),Australia and New Zealand also remained big markets for Vietnamese products.

Hien added that the numbers are expected to be higher in 2019 when the RegionalComprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the Comprehensive and ProgressiveAgreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and trade deals with the EU andthe US are approved.

According to Huynh Van Hanh, Vice President of the Handicraft and Wood IndustryAssociation of Ho Chi Minh City, the wood sector earned 9.3 billion USD fromexports last year, surpassing the set target of 9 billion USD, with a tradesurplus of 7 billion USD, the highest as compared with other industries.

The US and the EU remained the most potential markets for Vietnamese woodprocessors, but in fact, domestic businesses met only 1 percent of consumptiondemand in these markets.

Many firms said the US was still a key market as among 29 products with exportvalue exceeding 1 billion USD in 2018, ten were shipped to the US.

Experts stressed that it is necessary to identify markets for each group ofgoods, saying China, the EU, the US, ASEAN, Japan and the RoK, in order, shouldbe the major destinations for Vietnamese farm produce and seafood. Meanwhile, theUS, the EU, China, Japan and the RoK will be the main markets of Vietnameseindustrial products.

They also suggested domestic enterprises expand export markets, especially tocountries that have committed to cutting tariffs under FTAs they have signedwith Vietnam.

Experts, however, warned that local businesses are facing a range of technicalbarriers when approaching the foreign markets.

Vu Thi Kim Hanh, President of the Vietnamese High Quality Product BusinessAssociation, said Vietnamese agricultural products should meet GlobalGapstandards in order to integrate deeper into the global supply chain.

Also, garment-textile businesses need to change their production process toensure safety for consumers, save natural resources and energy, and minimise waste,she added.

Besides, reducing barriers at home, especially those regarding administrativeprocedures on business conditions, would help promote exports and improvecompetitiveness of domestic firms, said Tran Dinh Thien from the Vietnam Instituteof Economics.

He suggested competent agencies promote their role in assisting businesses to graspnew technical barriers in the world market, thus helping them change productionplans and processes and ease risks in export.-VNA