A new Investment Review (VIR) report citing data from the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), shows that Vietnamese exports to the EU have seen an 18 percent on-year growth to reach nearly US$10 billion in the first quarter of 2021, media DigiTimes reports.
During this period overall shipments to some EU countries including Denmark, Belgium, Portugal, and Italy have grown by a staggering 20-25 percent.
According to the report, the signing of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) plays a large role in the increase of the country’s exports to the EU, and the best performing sectors in the first quarter include textile, clothing, electronics, agricultural and fishery products.
Even products like Vietnamese leather and footwear which suffered a 10 percent on-year decline in the first three quarters of last year began to gain momentum after the EVFTA took effect. In the first month of this year alone, export of leather and footwear to the EU increased 26 percent from a year earlier, the report says.