Exporters Urged To Target Asia Markets .

Domestic exporters should capitalise on the rising import growth rates of Asian countries and boost exports to those markets, deputy minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Thanh Bien said yesterday.

Addressing the 2011 Export Promotion Forum, Bien said that the yearly import growth rates of China and India were currently 18-23 per cent, and were forecast to stay at 17-19 per cent compared to 4-5 per cent in the US.

"Domestic exporters should take advantage of the geographical distance and cultural similarities of the Asian markets, and expand their shares," Bien said.

Bien also urged domestic exporters to update information and procedures related to tariff preferences in the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) as Viet Nam's exports that enjoyed tax incentives remained limited. Viet Nam has so far signed AFTA's with China, India, New Zealand, South Korea and Japan, and is in negotiations with the EU and US.

Attendees at the forum also said that exporters should concentrate on high-tech products, saying the country's export ratio of those products was much lower than that of other ASEAN countries.

Source : vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn