Statistics from the ministry showed that last
year export turnover to Germany reached US$3.35 billion, 41 per cent
higher than 2010.
However, Hai said Vietnamese goods have not fully
exploited their potential in the market despite seeing continuous
growth in exports to Germany.
He said Vietnamese exports to Germany mainly
included shoes, garments and textiles, coffee beans, wooden furniture,
seafood and leather goods, while Viet Nam imported machinery,
automobiles, pharmaceuticals and chemicals from Germany.
Figures from the HCM City Trade Promotion and
Investment Centre showed that Germany accounted for 19 per cent of
Vietnamese exports to the EU last year, and was Viet Nam's biggest trade
partner in the area.
Accordingly, Viet Nam ranked 49th out of 147
countries that exported to Germany, 55th out of 144 countries to import
German products and 47th out of 144 trade partners based on bilateral
trade turnover.
Thomas Hundt, head of the German Trade and
Investment Organisation in Viet Nam, said businesses should pay more
attention to ensuring goods exported to the EU meet a raft of standards.
He said regulations on goods exported to Germany
have been tightened to ensure quality, hygiene and corporate social
responsibilities.
MoIT plans to organise more trade delegations to
Germany to promote Vietnamese firms, while Vietnamese company VietHaus
(SASCO) has built a commercial centre in Germany that will support
Vietnamese firms doing business in Germany.
SASCO's deputy director Doan Thi Mai Huong said
VietHaus would help enterprises to expand their businesses in the German
market with the minimum of cost.
"The centre, which is scheduled to become
operational in June, will showcase Vietnamese goods and provide
information on German consumer habits," Huong said.
She said some Vietnamese goods including beer and coffee along with tourism services, have already been promoted at the centre.
"We will organise activities to introduce Vietnamese coffee next month on the occasion of the biggest fair in Berlin," she said.
The ministry in co-operation with Metro
Cash&Carry Group and the Viet Nam Trade Counselor will organise
Vietnamese Week in Germany from June 6-16 to introduce famous Vietnamese
brandnames which meet EU standards, including pomelo fruit, Hoa Loc
mangoes, Tien Giang papayas, shrimp, basa fish and Trung Nguyen coffee.
Germany has 161 projects in Viet Nam with total
registered capital of $824 million, ranking 22 out of 91 countries and
territories investing here.
In HCM City alone, there are 61 German-invested projects with total investment of $345 million.
Viet Nam has 10 projects in Germany with total registered capital of $25 million. — (Source: VNS)