Posted on 19 Dec 2007
Vietnam's foreign trade booming
Vietnam's
foreign trade is thriving this year according to information released by the
Trade Promotion Department of the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
Overall exports have increased, with Vietnam set to
be among the world leaders in rice, peppercorn and woodwork exports.
Record-breaking exports were recorded for the July to
mid-December period.
Each month averaged US$4.26 billion worth of exports, which
was 3.1 percent higher than the year's average monthly target.
This year's total export turnover is expected to total $48
billion, a year-on-year increase of 20.5 percent.
Vietnam's
woodwork is being sold in 120 countries around the world, overtaking Thailand and Indonesia
to become one of the two biggest suppliers, alongside Malaysia, from Southeast
Asia.
Thanks to big improvements in rice quality, Vietnam has
been able to expand its exports, moving into more than 70 countries and
territories.
This year rice has been exported into markets with very
strict standards, including markets in Europe, the US
and Japan.
Analysts have forecast that due to its current export growth
rate, Vietnam will overtake Thailand to
become the world's largest rice supplier in the near future.
The country remained the world's leading supplier of
pepper-corn, capturing more than half of the world's market share.
Vietnam
has cooperated with Indonesia,
which ranks third in the world for peppercorn exports, to set up a pepper
export commission.
Vietnam
had a first this year in high-tech products, with its own Lilama Group
producing boiler equipment for Russia's
TKZ Group.
These boilers were then used to set up a thermal power plant
in India.
This year's export turnover, for the first time ever, has
grown by 23.1 percent, raising questions of whether this could be a result of
advantages gained from recently joining the World Trade Organization.
Ho Chi Minh City
remained the leading economic region with exports in the past 11 months topping
$6 billion.
The southern province
of Binh Duong was close behind with $5
billion worth of exports, followed by Hanoi with
more than $4 billion, and the northern city of Hai Phong with $1 billion worth of exports.
