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US-bound exports surge amid global financial crisis
Vietnam ’s exports to the US market enjoyed a “spectacular” increase in 2008 despite the global economic slowdown, said a trade official.
”Although the global economy and the US financial market have both experienced turbulence recently, Vietnam’s exports to the US during 2008 reached 10.5 billion USD by the end of October, equivalent to the whole of 2007”, the Vietnamese Commercial Counsellor to the US, Ngo Van Thoan said, referring to US statistics.
Speaking with the Vietnam News Agency, the counsellor praised the efforts of Vietnamese businesses, saying that they have accepted a decrease in profits in a bid to maintain their market shares and partners in this country.
Three out of 15 Vietnamese export staples saw turnover exceed the 1 billion USD benchmark by the end of October, including garments and textiles, which fetched 4.4 billion USD; leather shoes, recording 1.1 billion USD in export value and wood furniture, which posted 1.1 billion USD.
Thoan attributed the year-on-year growth rates of 25-26 percent recorded by these three products to a spike in their prices during the July-September period as a result of an increase in demand.
The Government’s efforts to remove obstacles for local exporters, such as taking drastic measures to reduce the stockpile of goods at the Hai Phong and Sai Gon ports in July and August, and to lower bank interest rates from July to September, has also helped to boost the country’s exports to the US market, he added.
Regarding the country’s export prospects for 2009, the trade official noted that Vietnam , along with the rest of the world, particularly the US , will face a range of difficulties resulting from the global economic downturn.
The ongoing global economic crisis is likely to severely affect numerous foreign-invested businesses in Vietnam , forcing them to reduce their output and sales in the American market, Thoan said.
He also pointed to US importers’ increasingly difficult access to bank loans, lower consumer demand, US policies limiting imports, most notably the enforcement of the Farm Law, and the mindset of traders as other factors hindering the flow of Vietnamese commodities into this market.
However, the counsellor stressed, Vietnam ’s exports to the US are forecast to post a growth rate of some 14.5 percent this year, compared with the 18-19 percent recorded during 2008.
Thoan said that the US is the world’s largest importer, therefore Vietnamese businesses will have to compete fiercely with foreign rivals to penetrate into this market.
He suggested that local exporters increase their understanding of American’s trading methods and habits, formulate strategies to expand the market, provide greater quality service to partners, and retain an air of optimism regarding the financial crisis.
“In spite of the challenges ahead, Vietnamese businesses must try their best to retain their market shares and partners,” the official emphasised.
VNA
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