Vietnam's Exports to US Projected to Increase 28%

Vietnam's exports to the US is expected to reach US$13.1bil in 2008, an increase of 28% over 2007. Vietnam's revenue from exports to the US increased by 39% this year to $10.2bil.

The 2007's growth rate came mostly from items such as clothing, seafood, wood products, coffee, and footwear.

The garment sector currently takes up the lion's share of Vietnam's exports, with a value of $4.4bil. Next year, Vietnam's garment exports to the US are likely to reach $5.4bil, a rise of 25.6%.

The US is now Vietnam's biggest importer of garments, which account for 55% of Vietnam's total exports to US market.

Vietnam's footwear exports to the US hit the $900mil mark, in 2007, a 12% increase over 2006. The footwear industry set the target of $1.1bil in exports for 2008, a 22% increase over 2007. If that goal is reached, Vietnam will account for more than 5% of total footwear imports to the states.

Vietnam is developing the production and export of wood products to the US in the coming year as a result of cheap labor and high skill.

The lumber processing and wood products industries aim to export $1.1bil of their goods in 2008, a 23.6% upswing from this year.

Vietnam's seafood industry hopes to continue tapping the US market next year with a 14.9% increase over 2007, bringing its export total to $850mil.

In 2008, Vietnam's coffee industry anticipates shipping 125,000 tonnes of coffee to the US, with an export value of $200mil, the same as 2007. The US is the world's biggest coffee importer.

New items such as shoulder bags, purses, suitcases, hats and umbrellas also promise another export windfall. Vietnam is predicted to boost exports of these items to $270mil in 2008, up 31% from 2007.

source: vietnamnet