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Plastics exports to reach 1 billion USD in 2010
The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) forecasts that the turnover of the country’s plastics exports may reach 1 billion USD this year as Vietnam’s plastic products have a firm foothold in the world.
According to the MoIT’s Industry and Trade Information Centre, the export of plastic products in the first seven months of the year earnt 554 million USD. Amongst the 70 importers of Vietnamese plastic products, Japan is the largest.
In the second half of July only, Vietnam’s exports of plastic products to Japan reached over 11 billion USD, accounting for 26.5 percent of the country’s total.
It was followed by the US with an estimated turnover of 5.7 million USD. The US was the largest importer of Vietnamese plastic products in 2009.
Besides their traditional markets, Vietnamese businesses have also penetrated markets in new EU member countries like Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary and Poland as well as African and Middle Eastern countries, to maintain their export growth and avoid risks when traditional markets fluctuate.
According to the MoIT, plastics is one of the fastest-growing production sectors in Vietnam over the past ten years, with an average growth rate of 15-20 percent per year. Plastic packaging earns the most, accounting for 80 percent of the total value of plastic exports.
However, the plastics sector still relies heavily on imported materials and production is usually on a small scale with no long-term investment strategies. At present, the sector needs around 1.5 million tonnes of raw materials each year and the domestic supply can only meet one fifth of this. Up to 90 percent of the 2,000 domestic plastic producers are small and medium sized businesses.
The Vietnam Plastics Association (VPA) recommends that businesses should focus investment on groups of export staples that have a competitive edge, develop hi-tech plastic products and self-degrading wrappings and boost the production of domestic raw materials. There should also be more emphasis on re-cycling.
At present, the plastics sector is focusing on building several factories to produce polypropylene and polyethylene, which are due to become operational later this year.
vietnamplus
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