The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has announced the vote for prestigious exporters of 2017, aimed at supporting local firms in promoting exports and expanding markets.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has announced the vote for prestigious exporters of 2017, aimed at supporting local firms in promoting exports and expanding markets.

The ministry said the vote, which has been implemented for years, is one of its promotional activities to facilitate foreign partners to understand and exchange trade with Vietnamese firms.

The vote aims to recognise positive contributions of exporters to enhancing Vietnam’s exports. It is a great contribution of the business community in improving competitiveness and diversifying the export market for the country.

The country’s export turnover in 2017 reached 214.1 billion USD, up 21.2 percent from the previous year. This has been the highest increase so far -- triple the target set by the National Assembly.

Any exporter can apply for the award. The ministry will cooperate with the customs, tax and environment agencies to clarify to exporters whether or not they violate regulations on environmental protection and tax arrears to be eligible for the vote.

The selection criteria are also based on the export turnover for each goods group from January 1 to December 31, 2017.

Exporters are required to send their applications to the ministry’s Import-Export Department at No 54, Hai Ba Trung street, Hanoi, no later than March 30, 2018.

Exporters will be removed from the vote if the ministry finds out any violation or complaint from partners both within and outside the country. The selected exporters will be permitted to advertise their products for free on the ministry’s website moit.gov.vn, and in its newspapers and magazines.

They will be given priority while participating in national trade promotion programmes and receive free training courses on e-commerce. The ministry will also directly introduce the selected exporters to foreign partners.-VNA