Vietnam exports to South Korea continue to rise

Vietnam’s exports to South Korea in the first quarter surged 121 percent year on year to US$1.17 billion, as exporters continued to take advantage of the low and zero tariffs under the 2007 ASEAN-Korea Free Trade Agreement.

Textile, footwear, wooden furniture, confectionery, coffee, and seafood were the top items as exports rose in terms of both volume and prices.

Exports to this market has have been on the rise since the trade deal was signed, jumping from $4.5 billion in 2006 to $6.5 billion in the very first year.

Many exporters in Ho Chi Minh City are also eager to apply for a form AK, a certificate of origin issued by the Vietnamese government, which too enables them for low tariffs in Korea.

Huynh Thanh Tong, director of Camau Seafood Processing And Service Joint-Stock Corporation, said exports to South Korea have increased sharply since there has been a jump in demand for Vietnamese seafood like shrimp and cuttlefish.

His company exports 40 to 50 containers to that country every month.

Pham Minh Huong, deputy director of Phong Phu Joint-Stock Company, said her company shipped $5 million worth fabric and cotton to South Korea in the first quarter, nearly half the figure for the whole of last year.

It did not have to pay tariffs, Huong added. Textile products from ASEAN member countries are exempt from import duty in Korea.

The customs department said textile exports to Korea had been worth $111 million in January and February alone, nearly 134 percent up from the same period last year, while footwear shipments jumped by 73 percent in the first quarter.

Other exports like wooden furniture and confectionery also virtually doubled in the period.

M, the director of a textile firm supplying goods to a Vietnam-Korea joint venture at the Tan Tao industrial park in HCMC which exports to South Korea,, said his company has quadrupled output.

It was supplying 7,000 shirts a month and has increased that to 30,000 shirts, and plans to increase it to 40,000 thanks to the trade deal.

Agricultural exporters also said Korean consumers prefer Vietnamese fruits and vegetables.

Long Uyen Company in the southern province of Tien Giang said it recently shipped 16 containers of mango, dragon fruit, and taro to that country.

Diep Thanh Kiet, deputy chairman of the Vietnam Leather and Footwear Association, said exports to South Korea have increased sharply this year.

However, most of it involved subcontracting for Korean companies, he admitted, adding Vietnamese manufacturers need to be more active in building their own brands. – Tuoitre

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