Hanoi (VNA) - With export turnover increasing by 15% in the first four months of 2024, the export growth target of 6% set for the whole year by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) is achievable, said Dr. Le Quoc Phuong, former Deputy Director of the MoIT’s Information Centre for Industry and Trade.

Since early this year, businesses in key sectors such as wood, textiles, footwear, and agricultural products have fully tapped market opportunities to accelerate growth. The performance of these sectors has contributed to the country's overall growth, creating momentum for further growth in the coming time.

Positive signals

According to the General Department of Customs, the export turnover of wood and wooden products in April 2023 reached 1.3 billion USD, up 0.2% compared to the previous month, and 19.4% year-on-year. The export value of timber and wooden products reached an estimated 4.48 billion USD in the January – April period, an increase of 23.7% over the same period last year. Ngo Sy Hoai, Vice President and General Secretary of the Vietnam Timber and Forest Product Association (VIFOREST), stated that due to the recovery in demand for wood and wooden products in many markets, businesses have seen a significant rebound in the number of orders. For the pepper and spice industry, as of April 2024, Vietnam exported over 83,000 tonnes of pepper worth 352 million USD. The Vietnam Pepper and Spice Association (VPSA) predicted that prices are expected to continue rising in the coming time, which will help the pepper industry reach an export revenue of 1 billion USD this year. Meanwhile, Vietnam's textile and garment industry has also recorded many positive results. The Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex) is also exhibiting optimistic signs, as the global demand for garments is forecasted to reach 717 billion USD in 2024, an increase of 5.6% compared to 2023. Inventories of major companies have decreased compared to the same period. The textile and garment industry has a chance to access better market opportunities, with competition easing as competitor countries have almost exhausted room for further reduction of their currencies to support exports, no longer maintaining the exchange rate advantage as in the 2022-2023 period.

According to a report by Vinatex, Vietnam's textile and garment export turnover hit 3.15 billion USD in April, lifting the value to 12.5 billion USD in the first four months, representing year-on-year increases of 2.8% and 7.5%, respectively. With positive contributions from key sectors, Vietnam’s export turnover reached approximately 123.64 billion USD in the past four months, up 15% year-on-year. Notably, Vietnam's key markets have all shown strong recovery and achieved high growth rates. The export to the US was estimated to reach 34.12 billion USD, accounting for 27.6% of the country's total export turnover and increasing by 19.1% compared to the same period last year. China and the European Union (EU) remained the second and third largest importers of Vietnamese goods with an estimated 17.96 billion USD and 16.35 billion USD, up by 14.4% and 15% year-on-year.

However, import-export activities face unpredictable developments due to political conflicts in parts of the world, and high inflation in major countries, which caused disruptions to the global supply chain and increased production and transport costs. The MoIT, through its Agency for Foreign Trade, has various solutions to boost exports, focusing on addressing difficulties facing businesses and taking advantage of free trade agreements (FTAs). The department has been proactively collaborating with industry associations and big exporting enterprises in various sectors to identify and address production and export-related difficulties and obstacles./.