Socialist Republic of Vietnam

WASHINGTON (VNA - 26-02-2005) — Viet Nam’s exports to the US fetched more than US$5.16 billion last year, a 15.4 per cent increase over 2003. Imports, however, fell to $1.12 billion, a decrease of 13.1 per cent, according to the Viet Nam Commerce Department in the US.

Major exports included textiles and garments - 54.5 per cent, seafood and footwear - 9.1 per cent, agro-forestry and foodstuff - 6.8 per cent, furniture - 7 per cent, and oil and gas - 4.7 per cent.

Viet Nam’s exports only made up 0.35 per cent of the US import value last year. However, its export growth may depend on its supply, competitiveness and marketing.

Viet Nam’s textiles and garments have gained US importers’ attention due to quality and timely delivery. The US International Trade Commission said that only Viet Nam and Indonesia, in Asia, can compete against China in exporting these products to the US.

Viet Nam is considered to be the second supply source, after China, thanks to its competitively priced workforce and high-quality products, said the US Association of Importers of Textile and Apparel (USA-ITA). However, as of January 1, 2005, Viet Nam’s textiles and garment products are still under an export quota system while around 150 other exporters can sell their goods in the US quota-free.

Meanwhile, the exports of frozen and processed seafood fell by more than 20 per cent from 2003 due to a anti-dumping lawsuit. The US Department of Commerce’s Seafood Management Department revealed that the country’s seafood consumption rose 13 per cent over 2003. To maintain its market share, Vietnamese exporting businesses should diversify products, reduce production costs, raise products’ quality, and establish their representative offices in the US to build trademarks.

The Viet Nam Commerce Department predicted that Viet Nam’s woodwork export value to the US may reach between $500-550 million this year, an increase of around 50 per cent year on year while its total earnings may reach 5.7-5.9 billion USD, a year-on-year increase of 15-20 per cent. — VNS

Green light for footwear exports

Further opportunities to export footwear to the US are opening as Vietnamese companies and American importers seek bilateral contracts in a push to avoid dependence on resources from China, the US-based Viet Nam Commerce Department said.

An increase in the price of footwear and a shortage of labourers in China were cited as reasons for the push, in addition to Indonesia, a competitor of Viet Nam, experiencing socio-economic problems over the past few months, the department said.

While it was the eighth most prominent footwear exporter to the US in 2002, Viet Nam has overtaken Thailand, Mexico and Spain to be the fifth. Viet Nam now follows China, Italy, Brazil, and Indonesia.
The country, however, only represents some 2 per cent of US imports, while China is 68 per cent, Italy is 8 per cent, Brazil is 7 per cent and Indonesia is at 4 per cent.

Footwear is still promising for Viet Nam, as US footwear imports are forecast to continue rising without fluctuation.

The country’s exports to the US have on average grown 40-50 per cent every year. Viet Nam exported US$430 million worth of footwear in the first eleven months of 2004, up 43 per cent from the same period of 2003, the department said.