Wide opportunities for VN's exports to France

VGP – Despite accounting for a modest proportion, Viet Nam is still the largest commodity provider in France among ASEAN member states, and opportunities are wide open for Vietnamese businesses to boost their exports to this market.

March 09, 2021 4:49 PM GMT+7

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Amidst difficulties in exporting goods to France due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there are still a number of goods with improved growth in export revenue, which are mainly thanks to the effective utilization of tariff reduction commitments as soon as the EU-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) came into force.

Three Vietnamese export items to France that reported a growth rate of over 100% compared to January 2020 included means of transport and spare parts (up 222%); textiles, garments, leather and footwear materials and accessories (up 160%); and rice (up 110%).

Especially, the top 10 export items of Viet Nam to France in the first month of 2021 posted a combined turnover of US$243.7 million, making up 79% of the total value.

France is Viet Nam's second largest fruit and vegetable importer in the EU (only after the Netherlands), and one of the EU's largest vegetable and fruit consumers (alongside the Netherlands and Germany).

Basically, fruit & vegetable products, processed products, and fruit juices exported to the EU as a whole and France in particular will enjoy a zero tax immediately after the EVFTA came into effect. This will offer an opportunity to boost the exports of these commodities to the French market.

According to the European-American Market Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade), in recent years, France has always been one of Viet Nam’s leading trade partners in the EU.

Particularly in the field of exports, France is currently the fourth largest export market of Viet Nam in the bloc (EU27), just behind the Netherlands, Germany, and Austria, and accounts for about 10% of Viet Nam’s total exports to the EU.

However, Viet Nam remains the largest commodity provider in France among ASEAN member states. Viet Nam’s merchandise exports to France are forecast to regain growth momentum from the end of Q1 2021.

Statistics of the General Department of Customs showed that in January 2021, Viet Nam exported more than US$308.3 million worth of goods to France, up 28% year-on-year.

Meanwhile, it imported US$175 million of commodities from the European country, up 92%, thus enjoying a trade surplus of US$133.3 million.

By Vien Nhu