Workers at a factory of the Bac Giang Garment Joint Stock Company. Forty per cent of its total export turnover came from South Korea. Textile products of Viet Nam exported to South Korea has shown positive signs. — Photo baobacgiang.com.vn

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Vietnamese major exports will soon see strong growth in South Korea after the approval of the Vietnam-Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA), reported Dau Tu (Investment) newspaper.

At present, the export rates of the products in the textile, seafood and footwear sectors directed to South Korea have shown positive signs. The growth of textile exports to the South Korean market has reached more than 30 per cent in the past three years. Moreover, Viet Nam's total export turnover of textiles to South Korea reached US$1.4 billion in the first 11 months of 2014.

Nearly 10,000 workers of Bac Giang Garment Joint Stock Company have worked hard to deliver the products on time this year. The company has three production zones in the northern provinces of Bac Giang and Bac Ninh.

Nguyen Van Thang, director of the company's production zone in Bac Giang Province's Lang Giang District, said that 40 per cent of its total export turnover came from the South Korean market.

He expected that the company's export growth rate in 2014 would reach approximately $155–160 million, which indicates a 20 per cent increase compared with 2013.

"Exporting textile products to South Korea has many advantages. The production zone in Lang Giang has signed a contract to export textiles to South Korea until the end of the first quarter of 2015," Thang disclosed.

The company's general director, Nguyen Huu Phai, said, "When the FTA takes effect, textile enterprises with a good production capacity, extensive export experience and available partners will be provided more opportunities for export growth."

Seafood is also on the list of products benefiting from the tax deduction and increase in export turnover to South Korea as a result of the trade agreement.

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers, South Korea has regained its fourth position among the countries importing Vietnamese seafood after falling down the list in 2013.

Viet Nam is the third-largest exporter of seafood to South Korea, accounting for 13.2 per cent. The country stands behind China (28 per cent) and Russia (14 per cent).

In the first 10 months of 2014, the seafood export turnover of Viet Nam to South Korea reached approximately $534 million, which is $147 million higher compared with the same period last year.

Hai Vuong Group in the central province of Khanh Hoa is one of the private enterprises that has been granted seafood export certificates by South Korea. The country has become a major importer for the firm.

The group's quality director, Nguyen Cong Bay, said that the enterprise will invest to produce tuna products with higher quality. This move will increase the value of their goods exported into South Korea in the future.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Quoc Khanh revealed that the FTA will strive to swiftly implement the decrease in the taxes on Vietnamese products. This goal will be achieved quicker under the provisions of the FTA compared with the South Korea-ASEAN free trade agreement, especially for agriculture and seafood products.

However, the FTA will bring in many challenges for seafood exports to South Korea. Technical barriers may be governed by more stringent regulations, especially in the quarantine required for agricultural products. Enterprises will be forced to adapt to the new rules on their own, Khanh advised.

The Vietnam-South Korea bilateral cooperation has seen significant growth in the past two decades. The two-way trade has increased from $0.5 billion in 1992 to $21.09 billion in 2013.

In the first 10 months of this year, the total export and import turnover of the two countries reached approximately $24 billion, which showed a 4.5 per cent increase compared with the value attained during the same period last year.

In 2013, South Korea was identified as the third-largest trading partner of Viet Nam, which was its sixth-largest exporter.

Viet Nam's main import products from South Korea include equipment, machinery, spare parts and textiles and footwear. Petrol, iron and steel are also major import products from the country. — VNS

Go ahead South Korea's Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy announced on December 7 that it will carry out the FTA's ninth round of negotiations with Viet Nam on December 8–12, as detailed by the Vietnam News Agency reporter in Seoul. The two sides will implement the bilateral FTA negotiations from October 2012. At a high-level conference in 2013, the leaders of the two countries agreed to complete FTA negotiations before the end of 2014. The ministry said that in the ninth round, Viet Nam and South Korea will find ways to narrow differences on preferential tariffs, services and investments. In 2009, South Korea signed an FTA with the ASEAN. Viet Nam is also a member of the organisation.