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Hopes for export-led recovery
Vietnam is pinning its hopes on an export-led recovery from the economic slowdown caused by the global economic crisis.
The government will encourage exports by streamlining customs procedures, improving domestic transport, providing favorable loan rates and increasing trade promotion activities, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan told a conference on Thursday.
Khoan was addressing the “Solutions for Economic and Social Development” conference in Hanoi, attended by senior economists and government leaders.
The deputy prime minister told the meeting the key to Vietnam’s post-crisis recovery was to boost exports to certain markets as well as increasing the overall volume of experts.
Vietnamese exporters should focus on markets such as the U.S, the EU, Japan and Asia, where consumer spending is high, he said.
Oil will lose its place as Vietnam’s biggest export this year because the Dung Quat oil refinery, which began operating in February, means crude oil no longer has to be exported for processing.
Khoan said exports of seafood and agricultural products, such as rice, coffee and pepper, would have to increase to cover the “gap.”
In 2008, crude oil exports generated US$65 billion, compared with $16.3 billion for agricultural and seafood products.
However, the “gap” left by lower oil exports won’t necessarily translate into a trade deficit, Khoan said, because Vietnam will earn more from processing petroleum products than it did exporting crude oil.
As well as boosting exports, Vietnam will also focus on stimulating the domestic market and increasing domestic production to ensure sustained economic growth, Khoan said.
Vo Van Thanh
vietnews
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