by Thai Thanhvan     

    HANOI, Aug. 26 (Xinhuanet) -- Vietnam is striving to further tap huge European Union (EU) market, mainly by boosting exports of some commodities with high export revenues, offering assistance tolocal exporters, and intensifying trade promotion.

    To fulfill this year's export turnover target of 4.2 billion USdollars to the EU, a market of 25 countries with total population of around 500 million people, the country will push up exports of footwear, textiles, garments, seafood, and coffee in the coming time.

    Regarding footwear, which enjoys the Generalized Scheme of Tariff Preferences (GSP) and the free-quota regime, the Vietnamese Ministry of Trade will encourage local producers to expand cooperation with their EU trade partners, especially ones having well-known trademarks, under the forms of outsourcing and joint ventures to boost direct export not through mediators.

    It will also urge enterprises to create their own models and diversify products, not just rely on designs supplied by foreign companies or focus on making sports shoes and cloth shoes as they do currently.

    Besides, the ministry will ask footwear makers to raise the competitive edge of their products by improving quality, reducing production cost and ensuring due delivery.

    Vietnam's annual footwear export turnovers to the EU have stoodat more than 1 billion dollars in recent years, accounting for over 70 percent of the country's overseas sales, and holding a market share of around 10 percent in the block's market.

    For textiles and garments, Vietnam will continue to negotiate with the EU, the second biggest markets of the local products after the United States, to increase its quotas. The country will also open wider market of some goods and services for the EU, in return, it may ask the block remove its quotas imposed on the local textiles and garments.

    Additionally, it will encourage local enterprises to make full use of quotas by using more local materials to turn out products with high quality and value, and seek further direct contracts with EU importers.

    Vietnam earned 360 million dollars from selling garments and textiles to the EU in the first half of this year, representing 18percent of its export revenue in the period. It has targeted to export 900-950 million dollars worth of the products to the EU this year.

    Regarding seafood, the country will boost export to 10 central and eastern European countries (CEEC), new EU members, which have yet to import the local products via official channels, and further exploit traditional markets such as France, Germany, Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands. To this end, it will coordinate with regional exporters in negotiating with the EU about the safe level of antibiotic residues in the products through science seminars and international meetings on health and food safety.

    Meanwhile, it will actively adjust price and market fluctuations, facilitate local producers and exporters to access bank loans, and guarantee them to conduct the mode of deferred payment, which is now popular in the CEEC.

    Together with boosting export of goods with high value, the country plans to grant stronger support to businesses by removing export tariffs, refunding taxes imposed on imported materials for production of items, and simplifying export related administrative procedures.

    To help local exporters seek more trade partners in the market,the Ministry of Trade will expand trade promotion by holding tradefairs and exhibitions, and sending more business delegations to the EU. It is scheduled to implement dozens of such programs in the EU this year.

    Vietnam reached an export turnover of more than 3 billion dollars to the EU last year, accounting for 15.5 percent of the country's total exports, according to the General Statistics Office. Enditem