Exports of goods to the EU market in two months of 2020 grew strongly with USD 6.3 billion, an increase of 22.7%, of which Vietnam had a trade surplus of USD 4 billion to the EU.

In the first 2 months of 2021, export turnover of goods reached USD 48.55 billion, an increase of 23.2% over the same period last year with 9 items reaching an export turnover of over USD 1 billion. In which, the domestic economic sector reached USD 11.48 billion, increased by 4.4%; foreign investment sector (including crude oil) reached USD 37.07 billion, an increase of 30.5%.

It is noteworthy that enterprises continued to take advantage of export activities to major markets effectively, especially in FTA markets such as the EU, Japan, and South Korea, despite the negative impact of the pandemic has reduced consumption in these markets.

Specifically, exports to the United States reached USD 14.2 billion, an increase of 38.2%, followed by China with USD 8.5 billion, an increase of 54.3%, ASEAN market reached USD 4.2 billion, an increase of 6.2%. South Korea reached USD 3.4 billion, an increase of 16.8%. Japan reached USD 3.2 billion, an increase of 3%.

Exports to the EU had a significant increase thanks to EVFTA being implemented into the second year, resulting in 2 months of export of USD 6.3 billion, an increase of 22.7% over the same period, higher than the increased imports from the EU with 4.7%.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade stated that Vietnamese enterprises quickly approached and took advantage of EVFTA's opportunities, resulting in a trade surplus in the first two months of the year with the EU market of USD 4 billion, an increase of 36.3% over the same period last year. It should be added that in the first month of the year, export turnover to the EU was USD 2.8 billion, then in February increased to USD 3.5 billion.

EVFTA officially came into effect from August 1, 2020, from the moment this FTA was implemented, many major export industries took advantage of the opportunity to boost exports and enjoy tariff incentives. Accordingly, seafood, rice, textiles, shoes, plastic products, etc. are items that are quite quick to seize opportunities to boost exports to the EU market as soon as the EVFTA came into effect from August 1, 2020.

Data from the Ministry of Industry and Trade shows that, since the EVFTA Agreement took effect to the end of December 18, 2020, authorized organizations had issued nearly 62,500 certificates of origin (C/O) to enjoy preferential treatment in the EU market with a turnover of USD 2.35 billion. For the whole year 2020, exports to the EU market were estimated at over USD 34.8 billion, decreased by 2.3% over the same period in 2019 due to the negative impact of the pandemic.

However, after 5 months of implementing the EVFTA Agreement, exports to the EU market reached about USD 15.38 billion, increased by about 1.6% over the same period in 2019. Many export products of Vietnam have had positive changes in the EU market after the EVFTA was implemented, typically seafood, shrimp, rice, etc.

Kylie Nguyen