Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade said that in 2023, Vietnam aims to achieve the target of export growth of 6%, equivalent to an export turnover of about USD 393-394 billion.

Speaking at the Government's regular press conference in January 2023, taking place on the afternoon of February 2, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai informed about the target of export growth in the context of a decline in world demand, strongly affecting Vietnam's export turnover.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade said that in the context of many unpredictable factors affecting import and export activities, the export growth target in 2023 is expected to increase by about 6% compared to 2022.

In 2022, the country's exports reached USD 371.3 billion, an increase of 10.5% compared to 2021. Thus with the target of 6% export growth, the export turnover in 2023 is expected to reach USD 393-394 billion, an increase of about USD 22 billion in export value of goods compared to 2022, Deputy Minister Hai informed.

Recognizing that the difficulties of the world economy and global trade are not over yet, the leader of the Ministry of Industry and Trade said that the decline in world demand is a major difficulty and big challenge for Vietnam's exports in 2023.

In particular, the world demand decreased markedly due to: The global economy continues to face many difficulties, especially in major economies, which are the leading import markets in the world; Supply chain shocks causing raw material prices to increase, resulting in high production costs; High inflation, high inventories affecting the import demand of consumers, in which the strongest influence is on non-essential items, which are the main export items of Vietnam to developed countries.

Export growth in 2023 will therefore depend on many factors such as the conflict in Ukraine, the situation of inflation control, and economic developments in major import markets in the world.

However, the Deputy Minister said, there are also many positive factors such as the FTA Agreements continuing to implement the tariff reduction roadmap; attraction of domestic and foreign investment will be the driving force to create new production capacity for export; Vietnamese enterprises continue to promote their initiative and creativity, seeking new markets, and taking advantage of FTAs.

Kylie Nguyen