Vietnam to boost exports to Africa, Asia

Vietnam will boost more exports to Africa and Asia this year due to positive results of the increasing amount of exports to those markets obtained so far, reported the Vietnam Ministry of Industry and Trade (MIT) here on Wednesday. Ly Quoc Hung, head of MIT's African, West and South Asian Markets Department said Vietnam's exports, mainly aquatic products, coffee, pepper and garments, have gained credibility in those regions, which will serve as a foundation for the country's future export growth. In 2011, two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and those regions reached 14.5 billion U.S. dollars. Of the figure Vietnam earned 3.5 billion U.S. dollars from the exports to Africa, a year- on-year increase of nearly 200 percent, and 2.1 billion U.S. dollars, up 46 percent, from Southern Asia. The types of exports to those markets have changed, with focus on industrial and manufacturing products of high value, such as cell phones, computers and electronic items. In 2010, about 2,000 Vietnamese businesses exported commodities to those markets, a rise by 5 percent against the previous year, according to the MIT. According to experts, Vietnamese export businesses will enjoy more favorable conditions in the near future, since the government has adopted an import-export strategy for the 2011-2020 period and a vision towards 2030, under which measures are set to speed up production, develop markets, build financial policies to develop exports, logistics infrastructure and human resource and increase competitiveness of businesses and strengthen the role of industry associations.