Exports show positive signs of recovery in early 2024

Vietnamese exports to major export markets all recovered well during the first month of 2024. Notably, export turnover grew strongly and evenly in the agro- forestry- fishery sector, up to 98. 6% and the processing industry up 38.4%.

Many key export items in the processing industry achieved high growth rates, even posting a 2-3 digit increase, such as textiles and garments, which surged by 28.6%; wood and wood products by 74.6%; shoes of all kinds by 35%, and computers, electronic products and components by 57.4%.

Nguyen Dinh Dat, Director of the Department of Industry and Trade of Lang Son province, said that export activities in the province were vibrant over the initial month of this year, primarily focusing  on agricultural products and fruits. Thanks to good regulation, there is no congestion in the import-export situation at border gates, with customs clearance being made for about nearly 400 vehicles/day on average, especially during the days leading up to the Lunar New Year.

Also in January, Vietnamese businesses won 10 bidding packages to supply over 300,000 tons of rice to Indonesia and the rice volume is set to be delivered to Indonesia right after the Lunar New Year.

In addition to Indonesia, the Republic of Korea (RoK) is also planning to allocate quotas to import rice from Vietnam in 2024. These contracts are creating great motivation for rice growers in the Mekong Delta provinces.

Ha Vu Son, director of the Department of Industry and Trade in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho said that from February 15, Trung An Enterprise in the city exported the first batch of rice to Malaysia, while many others have also received orders from the RoK until the end of 2024.

Updated information from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang, GAP Cu Lao Gieang Cooperative in Cho Moi district has just completed exporting 13 tons of flat-seeded mangoes to the Korean market.

Not only mangoes, during the first days of the year, many durian shipments from An Giang were exported to international markets, raking in nearly US$2.2 billion in export turnover, representing a 4.8 fold increase over the same period from last year.

Increasing official exports associated with brand building

According to the MoIT, the world situation is forecast to continue to see major and unpredictable changes in 2024 with many intertwined opportunities and challenges.

The global economy is facing challenges from weak growth and high inflation, with growth expected to slow down mainly due to the tightened monetary policy over the past 2 years.

The instability and uncertainty of the global economy are at the highest level in many years, affecting macroeconomic stability and growth prospects of Vietnam - a highly open economy in the near future.

Therefore, functional units of the MoIT need to synchronously  carry out trade promotion solutions, and make good use of market opening opportunities to boost exports to traditional and neighboring markets and partner markets that have signed Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), especially new generation FTAs.

This should be done with monitoring, updating, and ensuring the progress of customs clearance of agricultural goods at northern border gates after the Lunar New Year, while coordinating with ministries and local branches to intensify official export activities along with brand building.

Regarding import-export forecasts in 2024, Tran Thanh Hai, deputy head of the Import-Export Department under the MoIT said that the world context is anticipated to continue to encounter major and unforeseeable difficulties.

However, Tran Thanh Hai said that Vietnamese exports have plenty of opportunities to enjoy growth in 2024 as high inventories in many countries is gradually being resolved, while domestic enterprises continue to take advantage of the benefits from FTAs for imports and exports.

The Import-Export Department expects that the total export turnover in 2024 will increase by over 6% compared to 2023 and the trade balance will continue to record a trade surplus, Hai added.