Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade: Vietnamese goods should adapt to the Chinese market and make changes

On May 9, 2023, Vietnam's People's Daily reported that the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade statistics showed that in the first four months of this year, Vietnam's exports to China amounted to 16.4 billion US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 7.9%. Import from China reached 33.2 billion US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 13.4%. Although there has been a decrease in data compared to the same period last year, in the current context of Vietnam's foreign trade difficulties, the performance of China Vietnam trade is still better than many other markets. China continues to remain the largest commodity import market, the second largest commodity export market, and the largest agricultural product export market in Vietnam. The Ministry of Industry and Trade predicts that Vietnam's exports to China may further improve in the second quarter of this year.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade pointed out that currently, China's economy is developing towards high-quality growth, which means it has also put forward higher requirements for the standards of imported goods. The Chinese market is no longer as easy to enter as before, and not all products can be accepted by it. This is an inevitable and irreversible development trend, and Vietnamese and even global manufacturers and exporters should adapt and make changes accordingly.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade suggests that in the next stage, in order to promote the revitalization of the export market to China and achieve sustainable development, Vietnamese enterprises, especially agricultural and food processing export enterprises, need to strengthen research and complete relevant registration procedures as early as possible before exporting agricultural and food products to China; Coordinate with Chinese partners to diversify the export routes of goods at border ports, avoiding excessive concentration of goods at some border ports. At the same time, it can be considered to achieve exports to China through sea freight and Vietnam China railway intermodal transportation, minimizing the risk of congestion at land border ports during peak seasons. In addition, enterprises should actively participate in various international trade promotion exhibitions held by both parties to strengthen offline communication after the epidemic. The Ministry of Industry and Trade stated that the Asia Africa Market Department of the Ministry will hold multiple large-scale trade promotion activities in China in the future to help enterprises expand their market in China.