Trade co-operation is developing strongly between Viet Nam and South Korea, particularly in the garment sector, according to Ha Myeng Keun, executive vice chairman of the South Korean Federation of Textile Industries.

Furniture export firms in HCM City have joined in focusing on the domestic market in the wake of the global economic crisis.

Viet Nam exported more than 13.5 million tonnes of coal in the first seven months of this year, equal to the same period last year.

The Government has urged agencies and enterprises to increase the level of trade promotion in an effort to achieve targeted export growth this year.

Shrimp exports increased sharply recently after a several month decline which started in early 2009, according to the Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors.

Investment in export processing and industrial zones in HCM City declined sharply in the first half of this year.

Vietnamese companies have resumed dragonfruit shipments to the US following a five-month ban after exports failed the American government’s quarantine standards.

There are huge opportunities for Viet Nam’s exports to Brazil, regarded as potentially the most lucrative market in Latin American, according local experts.

Some exporting enterprises may be undercutting the prices of Vietnamese competitors when negotiating contracts with foreign buyers, with the net effect of undermining the nation’s total export value, say experts.

Bat Trang ceramics artisans and producers are mobilising to make them more competitive against imports being sold in the village, some under the local brand name.