Vietnam’s total export turnover has been growing at an annual rate of 12.8% but outbound shipments of agricultural products have faced numerous difficulties and their annual export growth was recorded at a mere 2.4% in the 2012-2016 period.

Rice exporters complain they have to satisfy many requirements and pay under-the-table money to obtain a license to export rice.

Environmentalists have urged authorities to ‘learn lessons from the Formosa incident and reconsider proposed coal thermal power projects in Vinh Tan’.

Japanese automobile manufacturers have discussed the possibility of relocating their factories to regional countries because of Vietnam’s weak supporting industries.

The government’s strong commitment to support the development of hi-tech agriculture has excited investors, but many difficulties lie ahead.

As incomes have improved, consumers are now buying more high-street fashion products rather than Chinese or Vietnamese clothing. 

Vietnamese enterprises are working hard to become suppliers of parts and accessories for foreign electronics manufacturers. 

The Vietnamese e-commerce market has become more crowded with powerful players such as Lotte, Alibaba, VNG, Vingroup, Aeon and The Gioi Di Dong.

Experts believe that Vietnam should focus on producing high-quality rice instead of striving to earn money from selling low-cost rice products.

Many real estate developers in recent years have been running a race to provide  products that serve tourism, an achievement that has helped attract 10 million foreign travelers to Vietnam.