Exporters take advantage of S Korea trade

Exports to South Korea in the first quarter jumped 121 per cent to nearly US$1.17 billion, the General Department of Viet Nam Customs reported.

Both export prices and volumes rose, according to companies.

Garment and textiles, footwear, wooden products, confectionary, seafood, and coffee saw the highest export growth rates.

Shipments of garment and textile products were worth $111 million in January and February, an increase of 134 per cent year-on-year.

In that period exports of confectionery, cassava, cassava starch and wood products also grew by 100 per cent.

Pham Minh Huong, Deputy General Director of Phong Phu Joint Stock Company, said in the first quarter her company exported $5 million worth of yarns and threads to South Korea, or nearly 50 per cent of exports to that country in the whole of last year.

One of the reasons for exports to South Korea to skyrocket was the benefit brought by the ASEAN-South Korea Free Trade Area (AKFTA) agreement, Huong said.

From last year, under the AKTFA, South Korea has eliminated tariffs on all products imported from ASEAN member countries.

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