HANOI, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- Vietnamese exporters have been urged to diversify export markets amid challenges posed by global rising inflation, the downward trend in commodity prices and the falling demand in many markets, local newspaper Vietnam News reported on Friday.
The diversification of export markets is now a matter of survival for businesses in the current context, the newspaper cited Pham Thi Ngoc Thuy, director of the Private Economic Development Research Board.
Noting that traditional markets would not be easily changed in one to two years, Thuy emphasized the role of state agencies in helping firms find new markets. It is necessary to have policies and mechanisms that could facilitate Vietnamese exports besides firms' efforts to promote trade, she said.
Tran Thanh Hai, deputy director of the Import and Export Department, Ministry of Industry and Trade highlighted the importance of free trade agreements and trade promotion activities.
The efficient exploitation of free trade agreements would open up great opportunities for local businesses. Trade promotion activities played an important role in helping businesses enter foreign markets and grasp the requirements of those markets.
The country has strengthened trade promotion activities in new and potential markets such as India, Africa and the Middle East, the newspaper reported.
Vietnam's export revenue in the first seven months of this year stood at 194.73 billion U.S. dollars, down 10.6 percent year on year, according to the country's General Statistics Office.
