Vietnam’s exports not entirely rely on aquatic exports

The Office of the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), on October 24, informed the press that the balance of trade of Vietnamese goods between domestic and foreign-invested (FDI) enterprises was veering strongly, at the same time affirmed that Vietnam's current export turnover does not entirely depend on shrimps and fish.
Processing shrimps for export. (Photo: SGGP)
Processing shrimps for export. (Photo: SGGP)
According to the report on the export situation within 20 years of the MoIT, in 2001, the export turnover of FDI enterprises accounted for 45.2 percent of total exports, including crude oil. The proportion of exports of FDI enterprises increased gradually, reaching the highest level of about 71.4 percent in 2018. For many years, Vietnam's exports had relied on the achievements of foreign enterprises.

However, since 2019, the export turnover of domestic enterprises has risen sharply, while that of the FDI sector has increased slowly or decreased, so the proportion of the export value of the FDI sector has gradually declined, the MoIT informed.

In the first nine months of this year, the export turnover of FDI enterprises merely touched US$131.1 billion, a decrease of 2.8 percent over the same period last year, accounting for 65 percent of the total export turnover of Vietnam.

Meanwhile, the export turnover of domestic enterprises in 2019 hit $82.96 billion, up 19 percent compared to 2018, much higher than an increase of 4.2 percent of the FDI sector. In the first nine months of this year, the export turnover of the domestic sector surged by 19.5 percent, while that of the FDI sector fell by 2.8 percent.

The domestic sector posted positive growth amid the context that agricultural and aquatic exports were facing difficulties, showing that the growth motivation of the domestic sector is not mainly dependent on the export growth of the group of agricultural and aquatic products as in previous years, but from the group of industrial products, said the MoIT.

Although the FDI sector's exports have been showing signs of inferiority in the past two years, compared to the domestic sector, the MoIT said that FDI enterprises have contributed to changing the structure of export products in the direction of reducing the proportion of mining products and primary products, and gradually increasing the proportion of manufactured goods, such as electronics, computers and components, plastic products, electrical wires and cables, and bicycles and accessories.

Before 2003, crude oil accounted for nearly 50 percent of the total export value of FDI enterprises. But in the first nine months of this year, the proportion of crude oil in the total export turnover of FDI enterprises only accounted for 1 percent.

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