Current status of German goods exports to Vietnam?
Question: Current status of German goods exports to Vietnam?
Answer:
Export turnover
According to ITC TradeMap, in 2020, Germany's exports to Vietnam reached USSD 3.4 billion and accounted for only 0.25% of Germany's total exports to the world.
From the perspective of Vietnam, data from the General Department of Vietnam Customs shows that Vietnam's imports from Germany in 2020 reached USD 3.35 billion. Although making up only 1.27% of Vietnam's total goods imports from the world, imports from Germany accounted for 22.85% of Vietnam's imports from the EU, ranking second after Ireland (for previous years, Germany used to rank first).
In the period of 2010-2020, Vietnam's goods import turnover from Germany nearly doubled, from USD 1.74 billion in 2010 to USD 3.35 billion in 2020. Average import growth rate of this period was 7.93%/year.
Although Vietnam's imports of goods from Germany tend to increase, it is not stable during the period of 2010-2020. Especially in 2019 and 2020, import turnover from Germany dropped sharply, causing Germany to lose its position as the EU's largest importer of Vietnam to Ireland in 2020. There are many reasons for this situation, including fluctuations in the world market, impacts from trade tensions between some countries and regions, the UK's departure from the EU, and especially the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Figure: Vietnam’s import turnover of German goods in the period of 2010 – 2020
Source: General Department of Vietnam Customs, 2021
With the implementation of the EVFTA Agreement from August 1, 2020, exports from Germany to Vietnam were expected to recover and grow again. In fact, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs, Vietnam's imports from Germany in the first 10 months of 2021 reached USD 3.16 billion, increased 15.8% compared to the same period last year. This is a positive signal showing that the EVFTA has helped boost German exports to Vietnam despite the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Products
Vietnam imports from Germany mainly inputs for production such as machinery and mechanical equipment; electronic machinery and equipment; iron and steel, chemicals, dyes, etc. In addition, Vietnam also imports a lot of consumer goods from Germany such as pharmaceutical products, medical equipment, plastic products, or vehicles and accessories, etc. Those are products that Germany has strength in producing and Vietnam has high demand for consumption, production and export.
However, for those products, the proportion of Vietnam's imports from Germany in total imports from the world is still relatively low, mostly less than 5% (1-2%), except for pharmaceutical products with a relatively high proportion of 11.67%. This also means that German products still have a lot of room to expand their market share in Vietnam, especially with the impetus from the EVFTA. Moreover, German goods have been appreciated by Vietnamese consumers and businesses for their quality and designs. As the income of Vietnamese people is improving, the demand for high-quality products is also increasing and famous German brands will have the opportunity to increase their presence in Vietnam.
Table: Top 10 largest imported products from Germany of Vietnam in 2020
|
No |
Products |
Import value in 2020 (USD million) |
The proportion in Vietnam's total imports from the world |
|
1 |
Chapter 84: Machinery, mechanical appliances, nuclear reactors, boilers; parts thereof |
765.64 |
3.55% |
|
2 |
Chapter 85: Electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof; sound recorders and reproducers, television image and sound recorders and reproducers, and parts and accessories of such articles |
557.67 |
0.58% |
|
3 |
Chapter 30: Pharmaceutical products |
414.81 |
11.67% |
|
4 |
Chapter 90: Optical, photographic, cinematographic, measuring, checking, precision, medical or surgical instruments and apparatus; parts and accessories thereof |
378.43 |
4.49% |
|
5 |
Chapter 39: Plastics and articles thereof |
192.38 |
1.21% |
|
6 |
Chapter 38: Miscellaneous chemical products |
134.05 |
4.52% |
|
7 |
Chapter 87: Vehicles other than railway or tramway rolling stock, and parts and accessories thereof |
106.09 |
1.99% |
|
8 |
Chapter 73: Articles of iron or steel |
71.64 |
1.58% |
|
9 |
Chapter 29: Organic chemicals |
50.79 |
1.34% |
|
10 |
Chapter 32: Tanning or dyeing extracts; tannins and their derivatives; dyes, pigments and other colouring matter; paints and varnishes; putty and other mastics; inks |
48.57 |
2.75% |
Source: ITC Trademap, 2021
Source: The Center for WTO and International Trade
- Where can businesses find support on the EVFTA and German and Vietnamese markets?
- Where can information and data about the German and Vietnamese markets be found?
- How to take advantage of the EVFTA to effectively import goods from Germany?
- Opportunities from the EVFTA for importing goods from Germany into Vietnam?
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of German goods in Vietnam?
