Hanoi (VNA) – The industry and trade sector expects to make a beelinefor realising its export turnover target of 188 billion USD in 2017, or 6.9percent higher than last year.

A core solution to that is enhancing export enterprises’ competiveness throughrenovating technology and management, experts said, stressing that local businesseshave expanded their production scale, but not the added value of their products.

The signing of free trade agreements (FTAs) is significant to making Vietnameseproducts more competitive, but long-term strategies for trade brand, productquality and market development are needed.

According to Tran Thanh Hai, Deputy General Director of the Foreign TradeAgency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), a line-up of businesseshave yet to get updated with tariff commitments under the inked FTAs withVietnam’s partners like Australia, Japan and the Republic of Korea.

Risks would likely come due to their failure to thoroughly grasp the FTAs’contents of technical barriers and animal and plant quarantine measures, aswell as the principle of origin, tariff reduction levels before makingproduction and business plans, he noted.

As part of the effort to help local enterprises take full advantages of theFTAs, the MoIT has implemented a project to enhance the management of Certificateof Origin (C/O) to simplify administrative procedures, shorten time of C/Ogranting as well as complete electronic C/O granting.

Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh said the ministry will inspect allexport projects to address difficulties while joining hands with the Ministryof Agriculture and Rural Development to shake up the agricultural sector towardsimproving added value of export products and branching out goods with highquality to meet demand of export markets.

In addition, the ministry will ask Vietnamese trade offices in foreigncountries to study challenges that hamper Vietnam’s exports, choose specificstaples for shipments as well as expand market share in traditional markets andmarkets of partners involved in FTAs.

The ministry will join in national single door mechanism and pilot the ASEANself-certification of origin project, the Minister said.

Statistics from the General Department of Vietnam Customs showed that Vietnampocketed 97.8 billion USD from exports in the first half of the years, a yearon-year rise of 18.9 percent. It included 27 billion USD from the domesticsector, up 13.8 percent, 70.8 billion USD from the foreign-invested sector, up21 percent.

Meanwhile, the country splashed out 100.5 billion USD on purchasing productsfrom foreign countries in the period.

Director of the MoIT’s Department of Planning Duong Duy Hung said that exportsof agricultural and aquatic products will reach its peak by yearend. Meanwhile,key exports like garments, footwear and wood products are having a good time.

Imports will taper off, spurred by price reduction of steel, fertiliser andpetrol, Hung added.-VNA