Exports from Vietnam to the EU experienced an 18% on-year growth to reach nearly US$10 billion in the first quarter of 2021, according to a report citing data from the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT). The signing of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) serves as an impetus to drive Vietnam's exports to the EU, said the Vietnam Investment Review (VIR) report. Textile, clothing, electronics, agricultural and fishery products were the best-performing sectors in the first quarter, the report said.
Vietnam's leather and footwear exports suffered a 10% on-year decline in the first eight months of 2020, but such shipments started gaining momentum after the EVFTA took effect. In January alone, leather and footwear shipments to the EU increased 26% from a year earlier, the report said. Overall shipments to some EU member countries, including Belgium, Portugal, Denmark and Italy, registered staggering growths of 20-35% during the January-March period.