Exporters optimistic . . .

Vietnam’s exports have turned the corner after falling during the global economic crisis. Orders are flooding in.

Some exporters are ready to ramp up production. In early June 2010, the Hoang Long Group opened a Hoang Long Seafood complex that is able to process and pack 180 tonnes of fish per day. Hoang Long does not focus on exporting basa fillets to the US market like many other enterprises, but it is exporting to European countries as well. The day it cut the ribbon at its new factory, Hoang Long announced that it will add two more basa processing lines in response to demand.

The Hoang Long Group also invested in 16 aquaculture ponds and a 60,000 tonne per annum feed factory in anticipation of world economic recovery. By the end of 2010, Hoang Long will put a 100 hectare aquaculture area into operation and build an aquaculture research centre which will provide high quality fingerlings to farmers.

Footwear exports are rising too, even in the face of continued import barriers in Europe. Nguyen Duc Thuan, Chairman of the Vietnam Leather and Footwear Association, said that footwear companies have got many new orders so far this year.

Fibre exports have spurted upward thanks to the recovery of the world’s textile industry. Vietnamese textile and garment companies believe that their 2010 export target of $10.5 billion worth of products is within reach.

. . . but worries persist

Experts warn that the road ahead still has many potholes. Exports of farm, forestry and seafood products, products in which Vietnam has a comparative advantage and which bring high export revenues, depend on the world market price and typically pass through the hands of middlemen. The prices of some such products have decreased.

The experts add that the cost of many of Vietnam’s manufactured products are acutely sensitive to the costs of the imported materials that go into them, and these costs have been rising.

Meanwhile, Vietnam is exporting less crude oil and coal, choosing instead to reserve these fuels for domestic production.

Exporters have also asked the Government to reduce the cost of borrowing the capital they need to expand production.

Finally, sustainable export growth depends on the nation’s having enough electricity to maintain production. Frequent power cuts in recent days have slowed production growth.

Source: Nguoi lao dong