Agricultural products being processed for export at An Giang Fruits, Vegetables and Foodstuff Joint Stock Company in southern An Giang Province. Viet Nam is seeking measures to become a more reliable and sustainable exporting nation. — VNA/VNS Photo Vu Sinh

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Local businesses, managers and economists sat together to discuss how to improve Viet Nam's position as a trustworthy, reliable and sustainable exporting country at a trade promotion forum in Ha Noi yesterday.

This year, the Vietnam Trade Promotion Forum 2016 was designed to exchange and discuss measures on export promotion, production development and market development, aiming to boost the production and exporting capacity of Vietnamese enterprises.

Speaking at the Vietnam Investment Promotion Forum, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, Do Thang Hai, described trade liberalisation as the main momentum of global trade over the past decades, especially in Asian countries, including Viet Nam.

Since joining the World Trade Organisation in 2007, the country's total trade turnover has increased threefold, from US$111.3 billion to $327.8 billion in 2015. Import revenue expanded 2.6 times and export value climbed 3.3 times to $165.7 billion and $162.4 billion, respectively, he said.

These numbers demonstrate that Vietnamese businesses have made the best use of opportunities afforded by integration and trade liberalisation to deliver their products abroad, the official noted.

However, the integration process has exerted diverse impacts on economic sectors, Hai said, explaining that home decor products, handbags, leather and footwear, garment-textiles and a number of agricultural products have received more benefits than others.

Also, he added, the enterprises which turn out high-quality products and have strong export promotion measures are likely to have better success.

Vo Tri Thanh, former Deputy Director of the Central Institute for Economic Management, said small-scale businesses with outdated technologies and weak management will find it hard to compete with their foreign rivals.

Besides this, the domestic market is expected to witness fierce competition as a flurry of foreign products with competitive prices and quality will flood Viet Nam, thanks to the present average import tax reduction of above 10 per cent.

Strict requirements regarding product quality, technology and locally-made content set by foreign countries are the main barriers to local exporters, he said.

Meanwhile, Thanh pointed to many domestic enterprises that have yet to take the initiative in studying foreign markets and export promotion.

He suggested that Vietnamese firms improve their production and business capacity while raising their product quality to satisfy standards set by foreign markets.

JETRO Chief Representative in Ha Noi, Atsusuke Kawada, said that in 2015 first and foremost, Vietnamese start-up businesses needed to produce locally-made products with high competitiveness. To do this, Vietanmese producers needed to minimise their production costs, raise product quality and the productivity of production activities. They were also urged to generate good human resources to meet every demand of production activities.

He said assistance from the Vietnamese Government was needed, but that manufacturers themselves first had to make an all out effort. Collecting information about exports in importing countries was also important, he added.

Kawada said he hoped that through trade exchanges, trade promotions and trade fairs held in Viet Nam, Vietnamese businesses will have more opportunities to expand their exports. — VNS