The year 2021 is the first year of the Strategy for socio-economic development for 10 years 2021-2030 and the Five years Plan on socio-economic development 2021-2025, as well as the year of grasping, concretizing and organizing the implementation of major guidelines and directions of the Party as the spirit of the Resolution of the XIII Party Congress. With the prospect of global trade getting better when the Covid-19 pandemic is gradually controlled, effectively utilizing favorable conditions from integration strategies, the framework of free trade agreements having been and will be signed, import and export activities of Viet Nam are expected to accelerate in 2021.
Following the achievements in 2020, the first quarter of 2021 recorded a strong recovery of import and export activities. Total import-export turnover in this quarter was estimated at 152.65 billion USD, rose by 24.1% over the same period last year, of which export turnover reached 77.34 billion USD, increased by 22%; import reached 75.31 billion USD, increased by 26.3%. The trade balance in the first quarter of 2021 was estimated to have a trade surplus of 2.03 billion USD. This is a step creating momentum, creating a breakthrough for import and export activities in 2021.
Domestic production has gradually recovered steadily, Gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter of 2021 was estimated to increase by 4.48% over the same period last year, higher than the growth rate of 3.68% in the first quarter of 2020. Export turnover of many commodity groups has achieved a high rate of increase . In the first quarter, there were 11 products with export turnover of over 1 billion USD, contributing 76.6% to the total export turnover. Many items with high export value achieved double-digit rate of increase over the same period last year, such as machinery, instrument and accessory increased by 77.2%; iron, steel grew by 65.2%; wood and wooden products rose by 41.5%; electronic goods, computers and their parts increased by 31.3%; textile fibres and plastic products together rose by 31%; means of transport and components rose by 20%; footwear increased by 13.5%. Structure of export goods continued to improve in a positive direction, reducing the content of raw exports, exports of agricultural, forestry and aquatic products, increasing exports of processed products, industrial products. In the first quarter of 2021, the proportion of industrial goods accounted for 90.9% of the total export turnover, up 1.3 percentage points over the same period in 2020, of which heavy industry products and minerals were estimated at 43.2 billion USD, went up 25.9% over the same period last year, light industry and handicraft products was estimated at 27.1 billion USD, jumped up by 20.6%.
Growth in export turnover has added foreign currency revenue to the budget, contributing to macroeconomic stability, creating a driving force for the expansion of production and business as well as attracting domestic and foreign investment. In addition, the integration effect has been shown more clearly, the largest and most important export markets of Viet Nam have achieved very high rate: the United States reached 21.2 billion USD, rose up 32.8% over the same period last year (of which phones all of kinds and their parts increased by 71.8%, machinery, equipment, accessory increased by 54.6%); China reached 12.5 billion USD, increased by 34.3% (Electronic goods, computers and their parts increased by 42.5%, machinery, equipment, accessory increased by 173.3%); EU market reached 9.6 billion USD, went up 14.2% (machinery, equipment, accessory rose up 59.4%; electronic goods, computers and their parts increased by 32.1%).
However, in order for export activities to be truly sustainable in the context of Viet Nam’s integration with a series of free trade agreements, the domestic production and processing sectors need to continue to innovate. There should be a strong change in the structure of the commodity industry as well as improving the quality, innovating the trade promotion process to suit the new situation.
To achieve this goal, Viet Nam needs to pay attention to the following orientations:
Firstly, to stick to the objectives, requirements and tasks set out in the Government’s Resolution No.01/NQ-CP to drastically and synchronously implement;
Secondly, synchronously deploying many solutions in financial, monetary and information of market; promote restructuring of industries, products and businesses; enhancing the capacity for technology innovation and competitiveness of exports;
Thirdly, to enhance the role and effectiveness of trade representative agencies and professional associations in trade promotion; looking for business opportunities and expanding markets for businesses;
Fourthly, promote communication and issue guiding documents to effectively implement, take advantage of opportunities to expand export markets and attract investment from newly signed free trade agreements.