Trade surplus with US hits $6.8 billion in 2011 ....

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Trade surplus with US hits $6.8 billion in 2011 ....

Trade surplus with US hits $6.8 billion in 2011

Published on : September 13th, 2011

The department reported that Viet Nam exported $9.3 billion worth of goods to the US during the period, with imports to Viet Nam from the US during the same period valued at $2.5 billion.

Industrial products including textiles and garments, wooden furniture and footwear were Viet Nam's biggest earner in the US, with a value of $5.6 billion in exports during the first seven months.

Agricultural, forestry and fishery products also contributed significantly to the nation's export earnings. Among these items, seafood topped the list with export earnings of $597 million, followed by coffee and cashew nuts with $228 million and $216 million, respectively.

Director of the Ministry of Industry and Trade's American Market Department Nguyen Duy Khien said that despite the positive results, the nation's export turnover to the US accounted for less than 1 per cent of the US's total import value.

The US market still presented Vietnamese exporters with many opportunities, said Khien, adding that Vietnamese garment and textile exports currently accounted for 8 per cent of the sector's market share in the US. The figures for footwear and seafood were also only 7.8 per cent and 5 per cent.

Vietnamese products that could enjoy brisk sales in the US include textiles and garments, furniture, bags, wallets, umbrellas, seafood and footwear alongside added-value industrial items such as machinery equipment and spare parts.

However, to capitalise on the opportunities, domestic exporters must improve their supply capacity to be able to meet large-sized orders, Khien said.

He explained that US importers currently still preferred to buy Vietnamese goods via middlemen to minimise risks as they were afraid Vietnamese traders could not ensure a regular and stable supply of goods at large volumes.

Experts recommend domestic exporters to boost export of processed and high value-added products, especially agricultural produce, in stead of focusing only on the export of unprocessed materials.

The Government should further improve the investment climate to attract foreign investors to the country's high-tech processing industry as the sector remained restricted, the experts said.

Viet Nam's exports to the US reached $15 billion last year, accounting for 20 per cent of the country's total export turnover.

HA NOI —VNS

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