Vietnam posted a total export revenue of US$113.93 billion in the first six months of 2018, up 16% over the same period of 2017 and higher than the growth rate set for the whole of 2018, showing a positive result for Vietnam's foreign trade activities.

Export revenue higher than forecast

Rice is one of key export products of Vietnam recording high export revenue in the first half of this year (illustrative image)

Rice is considered one of Vietnam’s key export products with high export revenue. The rice sector reported export revenue of US$1.84 billion in the first half of 2018, up 44.3% in terms of value and 26.2% in volume, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

Agricultural expert Vo Tong Xuan said that the Vietnamese rice sector is witnessing positive changes with an increase in the share of high-quality rice.

Since late 2017, the export prices of Vietnamese rice have been on an upward trend and are now US$50-100 per tonne higher than the prices of Thailand, Pakistan, and India which contributed to the impressive growth of Vietnam's export revenue in the first months of this year.

The positive export results show that tension in trade relations between countries and the risk of a global trade war in the first months of 2018 have yet to have much of an impact on Vietnam's exports.

Remarkably, the six-month export growth was driven by the considerable growth of the domestic sector, said Le Quoc Phuong, former director of the Vietnam Industry and Trade Information Centre under the MoIT. In the first six months of this year, the domestic sector posted more than US$33 billion worth of export revenue, a year-on-year increase of nearly 20% which was also higher than the export growth of FDI sector (at 14.5%).

"The growth of the domestic sector is an important factor which contributes to sustainable economic growth," Phuong added.

By the end of June 2018, Vietnam witnessed 20 types of goods reporting export revenue of more than US$1 billion each including five types of agricultural products.

Phones and components; computers, electronic products and components; garments and textiles; machinery, equipment and components; and footwear are leading groups of goods recording high export revenue in the January-June period.

During the six-month period, the structure of export goods continued to see a positive transformation with a decrease in the proportion of raw materials and minerals which accounted for 1.9% of total export value of Vietnam (the proportion was 2.5% in the first six months of 2017).

The proportion of exports in the manufacturing and agriculture sectors also improved and are currently standing at 11.8% and 81.9% respectively.

Over the past six months, Vietnam posted total import revenue of US$111.22 billion, up 10% over the corresponding period last year, resulting in a total trade surplus of approximately US$2.7 billion which is an important condition for Vietnam to stabilise the macro-economy and boost production.

General Secretary of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) Nguyen Quang Vinh said at a recent industry workshop that exports have continued to play a crucial role in Vietnam's economic growth while leading Vietnam to become one of the known countries in the world's map of exports.

Expectations for remaining months of this year

With the achieved results, Vietnam's import-export revenue is estimated to reach US$475-US$477 billion in 2018, a rise of 11.5% over 2017, including US$240-US$242 billion worth of export revenue, up 13% over 2017.

To fulfil the set target for export revenue, the customs sector along with ministries and sectors concerned have committed to continue promoting administrative reforms and to modernise State management over customs procedures.

Specifically, they will create optimal conditions for enterprises to carry out customs procedures, tax payment and goods clearances through the application of information technology and the implementation of the national one-stop-shop mechanism and the ASEAN one-stop-shop mechanism.

In the short-term, the General Department of Vietnam Customs intends to complete its electronic customs system through the building of a mobile technology platform to connect with enterprises and meet the requirements of carrying out customs procedures 24/7.

Meanwhile, Deputy Head of the Department of Export and Import under the MoIT, Tran Thanh Hai said that the MoIT will continue to promote information about free trade agreements (FTAs) so that firms can make full use of such FTAs.

The ministry will also work to boost domestic production and investments in supporting industries while ensuring the stable supply of input for the production of export products and to reduce the dependence on imports.

A comprehensive review and assessment of the impacts of FTAs on each industry will be carried out to adjust the development strategies of each industry, Hai noted.

Nhan Dan