In the two years since the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EUVFTA) came into effect, expectations of growth in imports and exports, especially Vietnam’s exports, have come true.

Despite entering into force at a time when Covid-19 was ravaging the globe, two-way trade in general and Vietnam’s exports to the EU still witnessed impressive growth.

Bilateral trade reached $54.9 billion in 2020, up 12.1 per cent against 2019, in which Vietnam’s exports to the EU reached $34.5 billion, up 11.3 per cent. In 2021, two-way trade was $61.4 billion and Vietnam’s exports $45 billion, year-on-year increases of 11.9 per cent and 17 per cent, respectively.

In the first eleven months of this year, two-way trade came in at $57 billion and Vietnam’s exports to the EU $43.5 billion, up 14 per cent and 21 per cent year-on-year, respectively. Of note, Vietnam’s key export items, including garments, footwear, and seafood products, all posted positive growth.

Additionally, Vietnamese businesses have made full use of incentives within the EUVFTA. In 2021, revenue from Vietnam’s exports granted a certificate of origin (C/O) under the EUR.1 form accounted for over 20 per cent of total exports to the bloc. In the first ten months of 2022 it was 25.1 per cent, up 30 per cent year-on-year.

“These positive outcomes demonstrate that Vietnamese businesses have effectively taken advantage of the opportunities in the EUVFTA,” said Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Quoc Khanh.

Speaking at an event held to review two years of implementing the EUVFTA, Sales Director at the Loc Troi Group Nguyen Van Hieu said the group had fully taken advantage of the EU market.

In 2018, it exported more than 2,000 tons of rice to the EU, then 8,000 tons in 2019 and 11,000 tons in 2020. It then doubled its exports to the EU in 2022 compared to 2021.