At the 2018 export promotion forum held recently, Hai said that the ministry encourages the export of some potential commodities, including textiles and garments which have posted a relatively rapid export growth rate. However, he noted, firms should step up exporting FOB (free-on-board), ODM (original design manufacturer) and OBM (original brand manufacturer) products instead of CMT (cut, make and trim) garments like they do at present so as to increase the value of export products and engage more in global production chains.
The government encourages exports of textile and garment products
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From January 2019, companies shipping footwear to the EU can certify their products’ origin by themselves, which is a good condition for stronger exports to this market and promises higher export turnover in the years ahead, Hai noted.
Le Hoang Oanh, Director of the MoIT’s Department of Asian and African Markets, said the ministry has enhanced bilateral and multilateral negotiations recently, but it is just the initial step helping to open markets.
What businesses need to do is capitalizing on preferential treatment under FTAs, she said, stressing that local authorities should also help their enterprises to take part in trade fairs and improve product quality.
At the forum, Vu Ba Phu, Director of the MoIT’s Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency, said the country’s export markets have been expanded with improved trade balance over the past years. There has been an increase in the overseas shipments of processed and manufactured products, along with a decline in the export of goods groups of natural resources and goods with low added value, he said, adding that Vietnam’s exports last year surpassed US$200 billion for the first time.
In the context of deeper international economic integration, Vietnam has actively negotiated and signed many free trade agreements (FTAs), especially new-generation FTAs with major partners like the Republic of Korea, the EU, and the Eurasian Economic Union, Phu said.
To exist and develop, he said, Vietnamese businesses need to change their mindset and actively promote their production and business capacity in parallel with developing brand names and improving the quality of products and export value to meet consumers’ increasing demand.
The government has so far approved the national trade promotion program in 2018, which will implement 156 projects with budget of VNĐ103 billion ($4.5 million). It includes activities to develop markets and export products, such as organization of exhibitions both inside and outside the country, welcoming foreign importers and providing trade information.
In addition to these, the program will launch trade promotional activities to develop the local market, especially in rural, remote and mountainous areas.
This year’s program has new features compared with the previous years, as it has approved 11 projects in the mid-term to help businesses build their trade promotion plans in the 2018-2020 period.
After years of implementation, the national trade promotion program has become an effective channel to develop markets. Last year, some 7,000 businesses enjoyed the program’s activities. The total contract value and direct transactions at the program’s events reached more than $569 million in foreign countries and VND324 billion in the local market.
Phan Thi Thanh Xuan, general secretary of the Vietnam Leather, Footwear and Handbag Association, said that after attending the national trade promotion program for 14 years, leather shoe companies have procured new orders and expanded their markets.
