Workers process shrimp for export at the Minh Phu Seafood Corporation in Ca Mau Province. Vietnam earned US$281 billion in export revenue this year, lower than expected, due to Covid-19 - Photo: VNA

Minister Anh said the export revenue was lower than the target although the country had adjusted itself in line with the developments of the pandemic and worked out response plans, Thanh Nien Online newspaper reported.

Without the pandemic, the country would have been able to meet the export target. For example, the Ministries of Agriculture-Rural Development and Industry-Trade had taken the initiative in the deployment of the European Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement. Multiple solutions had been employed to exploit the European market, so the growth in the trade value with this market in the last quarter of the year reached a new record.

As for plans for next year, the minister said it is important to continue developing both the domestic and international markets by conducting programs launched by the Government, propagating regulations for firms and restructuring sectors and the local service market.

In addition, he suggested improving the legal corridor and enforcement, which would help make use of free trade agreements effectively, Anh added.

Meanwhile, Le Tien Truong, general director of the Vietnam Textile and Garment Group, said that among the top five largest export countries, only Vietnam did not see the suspension of its textile and garment production, helping the sector report the smallest reduction in exports among sectors. 

For the first time, Vietnam’s market share of apparel products in the United States reached 20% in 2020.

However, in general, the textile and garment export revenue fell over 10% and profit declined 15%. In 2021, the sector set an export turnover target of US$39 billion, equal to the target in 2020.  SGT

2020 trade surplus estimated at $7 billion

Export revenue in 2020 is estimated to reach $267 billion while imports are to reach $260 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of some $7 billion, according to Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai.