According to the Vietnamese Embassy to France, the figures may reach 1,150 million euros ($1.65 billion) in the first half of 2011, a year-on-year increase of 21.94 per cent.

Vietnam's export value to France in the first four months amounted to 594.1 million euros ($855 million), up by 39.68 per cent over last year. The figures are expected to increase to 1.15 billion euros, or a 35.51 per cent rise, in the first half of the year.

The sharp increase in the export of electrical appliances and electronic products indicates a major change in Vietnamese goods exported to France.

In 2010, the export value of these products was double that of the previous year's figures, reaching 105.5 million euros.

The export turnover of these products to the French market in the first four months of the year amounted to 107.3 million euros, 7.5 times higher than the same period last year.

Pham Xuan Yen, commercial counsellor at the Vietnamese Embassy to France, said Vietnam attained robust growth in the export of textile and garment products to France despite a downward trend of consumption of these products in this market.

Yen said it indicated that Vietnamese goods' competitiveness had improved in the French market.

Vietnam's imports of French goods reached 178.3 million euros in the first four months, a slump of 9.06 per cent compared with the same period last year.

The import of traditional French goods such as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, perfume, electrical appliances and electronic products are expected to rise by over 15 per cent compared with last year.

Vietnam also spent 6.8 million euros to import automobiles, tractors and spare parts from France in the first four months, 77 times higher compared with the same period last year.

In the first half of the year, imports of French goods to Vietnam are estimated to drop by 6.6 per cent.