Vietnam’s exports have enjoyed significant expansion in terms of market scale and commodity structure, thereby making an outstanding contribution to the growth of the country’s export turnover, according figures released by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

At present, Vietnamese goods have been shipped to over 200 countries and territories globally, including several demanding markets which set strict requirements and high standards of product quality, such as the United States, Japan, and the Republic of Korea.

The country has made rapid improvements in its position in the world’s rankings for exports, rising from 50th place in 2007 to 26th position in 2018.

With regard to the overall scale of export market, back in 2007, the Southeast Asian nation saw only 14 of its export markets earn a turnover of over US$1 billion, with the US being the only destination to reach over US$10 billion.

By 2018, this figure had grown exponentially, with the country enjoying 31 export markets with an annual turnover of over US$1 billion, of which four markets stood at over US$10 billion.

During the first 10 months of the year, the US remained as the nation’s largest export market. This is primarily attributable to the policy of diversifying markets with increased exports to China, ASEAN, Japan, and the Republic of Korea.

Vietnamese goods have also achieved greater market penetration with the Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) markets, including Russia, up 13.9 per cent, New Zealand, up 12.5 per cent, and Canada, up 30.9 per cent.

This indicated that Vietnam has taken full advantage of FTAs in order to expand into new markets, particularly fastidious markets that set out high standards when it comes to product quality.

Despite this, the level of market diversification within the agricultural and aquatic product category has not been high as they are easily affected by market fluctuations.

Tran Thanh Hai, Deputy Director of the MoIT’s Import and Export Department, said in order to carry out a sustainable export strategy, the MoIT has proposed that the Government and the Prime Minister issue an export strategy for each period and a project for export market diversification for the 2015- 2020 period.