The initial success from the EVFTA

	Experiences in exports to EU
	Nine fragrant rice varieties are ready to take advantage of the opportunity from EVFTA
	Seafood export orders see sharp increase after EVFTA took effect

Shrimp is one of the typical products that is forecasted to continue to increase in the last months of the year thanks to the EVFTA. Photo: N.Thanh

Exports skyrocket

Recently, Vietnam's exports of agricultural and aquatic products have continuously received good news related to the EU market. On September 11, the first batch of frozen shrimp products of Vietnam was officially on the way to the EU.

Talking with reporters fromCustoms Newspaper, Tran Dinh Luan, Director General of the General Department of Fisheries (MARD) said with a broad view ofthe entire agriculture and fisheries sector, the EVFTA has created an opportunity for Vietnamese goods to lower prices when exporting to the EU market, improving competitiveness with goods that do not come undera Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the EU, especially agricultural products.

Vietnam has advantages in producing and exporting agricultural, forestry and aquatic products, while the EU has great demand for these items, with the import value accounting for 8.4% of the total annual import value. That shows that the growth room for agricultural exports to the EU market is extremely large. From the beginning of August 2020, seafood exports have increased 10% compared to July 2020. In which, the increased products focus more on shrimp and squid.

Similarly, Vietnamese rice entering the EU since the EVFTA took effect also made many impressions when it was the first time that Vietnamese rice export prices reached a record of more than US$1,000/ton. Specifically, Trung An High-Tech Agriculture Joint Stock Company (Can Tho City) has signed a contract to sell 3,000 tons of rice to three customers inGermany with two varieties of fragrant rice, ST20 and Jasmine. Notably, the price of ST20 rice exported to the EU by Trung An Hi-Tech Agricultural Joint Stock Company is over US$1,000/ ton, and Jasmine rice is about US$600/ ton. Before the EVFTA took effect, the price of ST20 rice exported to the EU was only about US$800/ ton, while Jasmine rice was US$520/ ton.

Looking at the big picture of Vietnam's import and export goods from the beginning of the year, the Ministry of Industry and Trade assessed that the development of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country and around the world continues to affect import and export activities. In terms of specific figures, the total value of goods imported and exported in eight months of 2020 is estimated at US$336.32 billion, down 0.3% over the same period last year. Ofwhich, exports reached US$174.11 billion, up 1.6%. Imports reached US$162.21 billion, down 2.2%. However, the most remarkable point is that in August 2020 alone, the export value increased by 6.5% compared to July 2020 and by 2.5% over the same period in 2019, reaching US$26.5 billion. This is the highest monthly rate in 2020.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade said that the EVFTA creates a great opportunity for Vietnam's exports, helps to diversify markets and export products, especially Vietnam's strong export products, to enjoy high tax cuts,such asagricultural products, aquatic products, furniture, textiles, footwearand electronics.

Larger opportunities

In addition to rice and shrimp, on September 16, the first batch of passion fruit export to the EU under the EVFTA will be held in GiaLai,and the ceremony of fruit export in general to the EU under EVFTA in Ben Tre on 17 September.

From now until the end of the year, many key export products of Vietnam hope to accelerate exports thanks to the EVFTA. Typically for shrimp, Tran Dinh Luan said that shrimp is one of the main export products of Vietnam to the EU. As soon as the EVFTA takes effect, the export tax on some Vietnamese shrimp products to the EU sawtax rates of 12% to 20% fall to 0%.

Shrimp exports to the EU in August 2020 increased by about 20% compared to August 2019. It is forecasted that Vietnam's shrimp exports to the EU from now to the end of the year will continue to increase, although the growth rate is not high due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Thanks to the tax advantage of Vietnamese shrimp being better than its competitors, EU exporters also look for more sources from Vietnam.

With the other billion-dollar industry, which is leather and footwear, EVFTA is even considered to be the biggest driver of the industry's growth, in the context that the output of the leather and footwear industry will continue to face difficulties, because it depends heavily on the ability to control the pandemic inthe US and Europe. To be able to take advantage of the EVFTA to increase exports, many companies in the footwear industry have made plans such as restructuring apparatus, ready-to-use infrastructure of factories and raw materials to meet the commitments in the agreement, and at the same time increased investment in machinery to improve product quality.

PhanThiThanhXuan, General Secretary of the Vietnam Leather, Footwear and Handbag Association, saidthe EU is a traditional market of Vietnam's leather and footwear industry, accounting for nearly 30% of the export turnover, or about nearly US$6 billion each year.

"We expect that the EVFTA will further promote footwear exports to this market, helping to offset the loss of exports in the first months of the year,"Xuan said.

Similarly, with the wood processing industry and the manufacture of wood products, in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, the wood industry, although less affected by imported raw materials, is still strongly affected by the demand for furniture around the world decreasing. In the last three months of the year, businesses expect the disease in the traditional export markets of the wood processing industry to be better controlled. In addition, businesses also expect the effective implementation of the EVFTA will attract more export orders from member countries.

Arepresentative of the Ministry of Industry and Trade saidthat from now until the end of the year, this Ministry will continue to urge and synthesize the EVFTA Implementation Plan of the ministries, branches and localities to report to the Prime Minister; coordinate with the Government Office in monitoring and implementing these plans.

In addition, the Ministry of Industry and Trade also continues to propagate and disseminate commitments in the fields of trade in goods, trade in services, investment, plans to reduce or eliminate import tax on goods and other commitments on market access of the EVFTA to improve understanding of people and businesses about the agreement's commitments.