A major breakthrough in exports should be made in order to fulfill the export targets set for this year. Vietnam’s traditional export items, which account for a large proportion in the country’s total turnover, such as rice, footwear, coffee and garments and textiles have reached the threshold for export turnover.

According to an economic expert, Pham That Thang, the added value of Vietnam’s export products is not high, leading to difficulties in achieving export growth for staple products.

Since early this year, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) have been optimistic about the seafood export target of US$4.7 billion. By the end of February, seafood exports rose by 19 percent over the same period last year. However, as from March, Vietnam should be more cautious when exporting seafood to the EU market after the organisation implemented regulations that all seafood export consignments must be accompanied by proof of a legal fishing certificate.

Director of the Information Center for Agriculture and Rural Development, Pham Quang Dieu, warned that seafood businesses need to pay due attention to the EU’s anti-dumping policies and the tracing of product origins.

Coffee exports this year are likely to drop 20-30 percent due to crop failure and a sharp decline of 40 percent in the prices, causing big losses for growers. Economic experts said that losses from these disadvantages are estimated to be equivalent to a reduction of US$700 million in this year’s coffee export turnover.

There are positive signs for the rice export market. Since late March, African nations, India, the Philippines and Malaysia have started to import rice. However, Vietnamese rice exporters need to act with caution against their rivals including Thailand, which has large rice reserves.

Increasing product value- a necessary measure

Since February, exporters have been in a fix due to a strong increase in production costs and exchange rates on foreign currencies, blocking their access to short-term loans. If businesses want to secure long-term loans to stockpile goods, they can’t afford the cost

Meanwhile, the world economy is not bouncing back as quickly as expected. Do Duc Dinh from the Institute of African and Middle East Studies said that the global economy is showing no clear signs of recovery while it is only partly rebounding, resulting in no increase in purchasing power.

As a result, Vietnamese export items including key farm products such as coffee and seafood are encountering unforeseen difficulties. Dao Ngoc Chuong from the MoIT’s Asia-Pacific Market Department underscored the need to increase the added value of export products by pouring more investment into high technology. In addition, Vietnamese businesses should explore consumers’ needs in importing countries in the post-crisis period so that they can produce suitable export products.