Vietnam's trade ministry targets US$50 billion electronic exports in 2021

Vietnam’s exports of computers, electronics products, and parts could hit $50 billion this year, or an increase of 13.5% year on year, thanks to strong demand for communications and remote working during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Smartphones are Vietnam's key export product. File photo

The Import-Export Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) gave the assessment in relation to Vietnam’s trade outlook this year, adding global supplies of electronics and computers are shrinking as the pandemic has forced many electronic manufacturers to close.

For the first seven months of this year, while a number of Vietnam’s key export items were on the decline as a result of the pandemic, industrial products, including phones and parts rose by 12% year-on-year to $29.35 billion.

“Smartphones continued to be Vietnam’s main export product for this year,” noted the department, with the country reportedly supplying 128 million phones for the global market during the seven months period.

For such achievement, the department highlighted the role of Samsung Electronics in turning Vietnam into its global production hub for smartphones.

According to the department, major export markets for Vietnam’s electronic products include China, the US, EU, ASEAN, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan (China), and India. Of the total, seven Asian markets accounted for 52.4% of total turnover earned from the export of such products.

Exports of phones and electronics to EU countries have also soared thanks to the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), especially to Hungary, Poland Czech, and Slovakia.

For the last half of this year, the trade ministry expects to focus on penetrating new markets with high potential in Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East.