Prime Minister: Resolutely eliminate "bottlenecks" in exports

Also attending the conference were leaders of ministries, branches, localities, many economic experts, representatives of associations and export enterprises across the country. Comrade Le Xuan Dai - Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Permanent Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee chaired at Nghe An.

2017 export set a record

A report from the Ministry of Industry and Trade shows that in 2017, Vietnam's exports made a breakthrough when they reached the milestone of over 200 billion USD for the first time. For the whole year, exports reached 214 billion USD, an increase of 21.2% compared to 2016, far exceeding the target assigned by the National Assembly and the Government to the Industry and Trade sector.

In 2017, Vietnam had 4 more products with export turnover reaching over 1 billion USD, bringing the number of products with export turnover over 1 billion USD to 29; the number of products with export turnover over 2 billion USD was 20 and there were 8 products with export turnover over 6 billion USD.

Garment is still one of Vietnam's main export products. Photo: Quang An

The processed industrial goods group continues to be the main driving force in export growth, with many items achieving impressive export turnover and growth such as phones and components (45.27 billion USD, up 31.9%), computers, electronic products and components (25.9 billion USD, up 36.8%).

The agricultural and aquatic products group also had good growth, contributing 8 items to the group with export turnover of over 1 billion USD. Many items had high growth such as aquatic products reaching 8.32 billion USD, vegetables and fruits reaching 3.5 billion USD,...

Still dependent on products, traditional markets and FDI enterprises

Besides the above positive aspects, there are still shortcomings and limitations that require the Government, central ministries, branches, localities, and especially enterprises to have effective solutions to overcome them.

Despite the impressive growth, the proportion of the electronics group is still very large (accounting for 33% of total export turnover). If excluding the two items of phones, computers and electronic components, the country's export growth in 2017 only reached 15.8%.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc speaks at the conference. Photo: Vietnam+

In addition, exports still rely heavily on foreign-invested enterprises (FDI), accounting for over 70% of exports. Because the production and exports of this sector depend heavily on regional and global supply chains, whenever there are fluctuations in the supply chain (due to trade wars, shifts in supply chains under the impact of FTAs ​​around the world, etc.), Vietnam's exports are expected to be greatly affected.

Another limitation that needs to be overcome is the situation where some agricultural and aquatic products are still heavily dependent on a few main markets, in particular, some products are dependent on only one market. This is a huge risk if these majority markets fluctuate.

Seize opportunities and find ways to remove obstacles and barriers

2018 is forecasted to have many opportunities for Vietnam's exports. World demand will continue to recover as global economic growth in 2018 is forecast to be positive.

In addition, according to the roadmap of commitments in FTA agreements, import taxes of partners will continue to be eliminated or reduced, creating more competitive advantages for Vietnamese goods in many major markets. The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Vietnam-EU FTA, expected to take effect in 2019, have been creating new attractions for foreign direct investment, helping Vietnam gain new production capacity.

Panorama of the conference at Nghe An bridge. Photo: Quang An

However, the world situation is also having many complicated developments, causing export enterprises to face high and unpredictable risks such as diplomatic and economic relations between major countries have become tense in recent days. The risk of a trade war between major powers is still simmering.

Representatives of associations such as Mr. Truong Van Cam - Vice President of Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association, Mr. Truong Dinh Hoe - Vice President of Seafood Exporters Association, Mr. Nguyen Duc Thuan - President of Leather and Footwear Association... raised a number of difficult issues such as trade protectionism, trade defense measures of some countries have created major barriers for export enterprises, in which the most prominent recently is the US imposing special anti-dumping tax on many seafood products, iron and steel...

In the first quarter of 2018, Quynh Luu fishermen exploited and exported about 2,000 tons of hairtail fish. Photo: Nhu Thuy

The Ministry of Industry and Trade, experts and managers attending the online conference proposed groups of solutions to support businesses in promoting exports in the coming time.

Concluding the conference, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc acknowledged the issues raised by delegates, representatives of enterprises and business associations. According to the Prime Minister, it is necessary to resolutely eliminate bottlenecks in exports. It is necessary to soon complete legal corridors and remove difficulties and obstacles for enterprises such as customs procedures, taxes, fees, etc. The Prime Minister assigned the Ministry of Industry and Trade to answer 5 main issues, and at the same time requested Vietnamese enterprises and business associations to proactively seek and diversify export markets; promote all potentials, capabilities and advantages of Vietnam to increase competitiveness in exporting goods.

Based on the opinions of the delegates, the Prime Minister proposed a direction to help Vietnamese enterprises create links with FDI enterprises in global connectivity; build a modern, convenient, low-cost Vietnamese logistics system; find ways to penetrate the distribution channels of large retail corporations in the world; closely follow market signals and information to be proactive in production and sales.

The Prime Minister stated the general goal for the Industry and Trade sector in 2018 is that export turnover continues to increase, but must be balanced with imports, not allowing the situation where exports increase but imports increase even higher.