According to economic experts from the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM), Vietnamese businesses have not actively taken advantage of opportunities in the implementation of commitments to the World Trade Organisation, regional trade and bilateral agreements but rather have reacted passively toward challenges.

Vietnam maintains an excess of import over exports, even for those goods, which the country can produce itself. Mr Tu said that one of the reasons for the imbalance is that Vietnamese businesses, which could export more, are not fully prepared to cope with technical barriers in accordance with international norms. For example, China’s requirement that Vietnam has to put a certificate of origin on Vietnamese farm produce, he said.

The global economic downturn and the implementation of Vietnam’s commitments to the WTO remain a challenge. Import markets have narrowed domestic production such as when US President Barack Obama put forth a policy encouraging the American people to buy domestic products. China has banned the import of goods, which the country can produce. Vietnam’s exports to such major markets as the US, EU and Japan often make up 70 percent of export turnover. Meanwhile, as for the remaining 30 percent, Vietnamese businesses are not interested in or they lack information on these markets.

In addition, administrative formalities are also a great concern for many export businesses such as regulations relating to customs which have caused difficulties for enterprises. “These regulations are contrary to the government’s spirit in simplifying administrative formalities in managing enterprises”, said Le Quoc An, Chairman of the Vietnam National Garment and Textile Group (Vinatex).

Boosting exports to ASEAN countries

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), Vietnam’s export earnings from some foreign markets declined in the past seven months, from  Asia (down 19 percent), Oceania (46 percent), the US (6 percent), Japan (36.7 percent), and China (10.6 percent).

This is attributed to a decrease in the prices of some key export items in the world market and the shrinkage of some traditional export markets due to the impact of the economic crisis.

Economists said that ASEAN is a potential market, which has many similarities in economics and culture with Vietnam. However, over the past years, Vietnamese businesses have not fully taken advantages of this and have assumed export structure of countries within the ASEAN bloc are relatively similar. Vietnam’s exports to ASEAN countries fell by 25.2 percent in the first half of the year. Mr Tu said that many Vietnamese goods could be sold to ASEAN member countries. “Vietnam can export rice and other farm produce to Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia. The current tasks for businesses are to survey markets in ASEAN member countries to produce competitive goods. In addition, businesses should invest in upgrading equipment to improve their competitive edge.

According to an analysis by MoIT, Vietnam’s import-export situation faces numerous difficulties. Vietnam has exported a maximum volume of agro-forestry and seafood products since the beginning of the year. Therefore, in the coming months, it is needed to boost export goods in the processing industry. It is predicted that the import-export situation will be improved in the coming months due to the recovery of the world economy.