Workers package Tan Lac red-flesh pomelo in Hoa Binh province for export. (Photo: VNA) So said Minister of Industry andTrade Nguyen Hong Dien at a green export promotion forum held by the ministry andthe European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham) in Ho Chi Minh City onNovember 28.
To make the transition, Vietnam hascreated a number of policies, mechanisms, and conditions for the development ofa green, circular, and environmentally friendly economy. Many sectors and enterpriseshave also been striving to transform their operations, increasing equipmentinvestment, developing personnel, and boosting digital transformation and greentransition to adapt to new development conditions, he noted.
Vietnam is currently one of the 20leading economies in terms of international trade, with this year’s totalforeign trade expected at about 750 billion USD, up 16% from a year earlier,statistics show.
Truong Dinh Hoe, Secretary General ofthe Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), said theadoption of a green export strategy will help improve foreign buyers’ preferencefor products of a business, build up enterprises’ reputation in the market, andcreate a distinctive competitive edge for firms.
Bartosz Cieleszynski, deputy head fortrade affairs at EuroCham Vietnam, emphasised that trade in green technologyand sustaintable products has become a popular trend in developed countries. Greenexport, more precisely the export of products with low carbon footprints orenvironmentally friendly products, is a promising path for the countrieswishing to separate economic growth from environmental degradation.
However, Dien also pointed out certain difficulties and challenges to thetransition to a green economy and green export, of which the biggest is how toshift from a natural resource-based growth model to the one of greenconsumption, green lifestyle, and sustainable development.
Investing in green transition is achallenge to enterprises since it requires much capital and high technology.Initial costs of green consumption will also be higher than the average. However,greater effectiveness and benefits will be generated for people and businessesin the long term, he went on.
The minister added to secure fast and sustainable development for foreigntrade, it is necessary to devise support mechanisms and policies while creatingconditions for sectors and enterprises to step up transition to greenproduction, business, and export so as to improve their competitiveness andmeet growing standards in global trade.
Cieleszynski recommended Vietnameseproducers and exporters get used to consumers’ choices and meet theirexpectations by supplying high-quality, green, and environmentally products andservices.
The world is changing fast, and oncevoluntary practices turn into compulsory standards, competition in the marketwill become highly fierce. That’s why sustainable development demand needs tobe fully satisfied in Vietnam - EU trade relations, as well as global tradeties, he said./.
VNA
