Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Thanh Bien said Vietnam’s export shipments to major markets like the US, Japan and the EU, including agricultural products, processed industrial products and consumer goods are highly likely to be affected by ongoing public debt crisis. Therefore, the industry and trade sector in general and commercial counsellors in particular will have a lot to do.
In the latest Commercial Counsellor Conference in 2008, a burning issue raised at that time was the weak cooperation between commercial counsellors and enterprises. After four years, how has the Ministry of Industry and Trade resolved this matter?
It is quite clear that one of the reasons why the cooperation between commercial counsellors and enterprises is not good is the exchange of information. Information technology plays an important role in this cooperation.
Knowing this, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has stepped up the development of this aspect. With the support of many organisations, particularly MUTRAP III Project, the Ministry has set up two information portals. The first one is the foreign market information portal, which aims to provide information about domestic commodity market and foreign markets. This is a very useful source of information about export markets and import - export operating mechanisms in target markets.
The second portal, displayed in English language, provides Vietnamese exporter directories, which are built from customs data and corporate profiles.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade always attaches great importance to trade promotion activities and commercial counsellors are a very important "chain" in target markets.
So, how will this "chain" present its specific role in the coming time?
In my opinion, under this unpredictable market development, all companies, competent agencies and commercial counsellors have to try a lot to reach the targets.
We will work with commercial counsellors and companies to analyse individual markets and advantageous products. In 2012, we will carefully assess the demand in target markets and the competitiveness of direct competitors. Vietnamese companies should also change themselves to adapt to new circumstances. We will focus on boosting exports to less-affected markets.
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The Vietnamese garment and textile sector is forecast to earn US$15 billion from exports in 2012, up 10 - 12 percent from 2011. Three main markets for Vietnamese garments and textiles - the US, the EU and Japan - account for 80 percent of Vietnam’s export turnover of this commodity. Vietnam is forecast to face a lot of difficulties in 2012 because of lower values (prices of materials have dropped). For that reason, shipments to main markets in 2012 may decline 10-15 percent from 2011.
The Vietnam Food Association has set a target of exporting some7 million tonnes of rice in 2012. To achieve this objective, exporters need to sign export contracts in early months of 2012. Apart from traditional markets, some markets like Ivory Coast, Senegal and Ghana are also keen on Vietnamese rice, especially after the flooding in Thailand caused a short supply. The world is estimated to lack 3 million tonnes of high-quality rice and this is a good opportunity for Vietnam.
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Could you cite the example of a key export of Vietnam now?
Rice market is an example. Many used to think that rice price would increase strongly after the Government of Thailand planned to hike rice export prices. However, the supply from India and Pakistan has caused prices to go down, not up.
Vietnam's rice export prices are higher than those in India and Pakistan with a large margin and this makes Vietnamese product less competitive as buyers tend to approach cheaper sources. This forces us to work out solutions to sell out rice, ensure benefits for farmers and traders, enhance the effectiveness of rice export, and ensure food security among other aspects in 2012.
Although Vietnam exported some 7 million tonnes of rice in 2011 - a record high, it is expected to face a lot of difficulties and challenges in export in 2012.
Like any other export products, sudden changes require rapid and flexible response from competent authorities and consent of Vietnamese Trade Offices in foreign countries.
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