The first half of March saw Vietnam’s overall export turnover reach US$15.32 billion, marking a sharp increase of nearly 76% over the same period from last month, while import turnover hit roughly US$15.23 billion, a rise of 20.3%, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs.
Most notably, the country’s trade surplus hit approximately US$100 million throughout the reviewed period.
During the first half of March, import and export turnover enjoyed strong growth compared to the first half of February, with key export groups such as phones, computers, equipment, garments and textiles enjoying signs of recovery with high growth in turnover compared to the same period from last year.
Between the beginning of the year and March 15, the total export turnover reached nearly US$69.78 billion, with the nation enduring a trade deficit of roughly US$500 million.
In order to promote future exports, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has been implementing a range of solutions, with a specific focus on the effective enforcement of free trade agreements (FTAs), along with commitments in the WTO and the ASEAN Economic Community. These efforts thereby help local businesses to capitalise on opportunities from FTAs to promote exports moving forward, such as the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
As for export activities through the nation’s border gates, the MoIT said that in addition to solutions outlined by competent agencies aimed at facilitating the clearance of goods, the Ministry also recommends traders and businesses follow the goal of “safe to export, export must be safe” to ensure safety at border gates.
At the same time, the MoIT is also developing criteria for exports through unofficial channels in a bid to ensure sustainable exports moving forward.
Recently, within the framework of the Vietnam Trade Policy and Export Promotion Project funded by the Swiss agency (SwissTrade), the MoIT in collaboration with the International Trade Center (ITC) organised an online seminar to get opinions on developing the National Export Strategy relating to sectors and priority areas.
The project primarily focuses on promoting market-oriented economic framework conditions, as well as improving the competitiveness and market access of small and medium-sized enterprises.
It is also designed to support the nation in dealing with its export performance and sharpening international competitiveness of enterprises in a sustainable manner. This is being done by improving favorable framework conditions for import and export development, intensifying public-private dialogue mechanisms, and developing a dynamic ecosystem to support export promotion.
VOV
