EU becomes largest consumer of Vietnamese goods

HANOI, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU), replacing the United States America, has become the largest consumer of Vietnamese goods, Vietnam's state-run media reported on Wednesday.

Vietnamese exports to the European Union (EU) hit 20.3 billion U.S. dollars in 2012, increasing 22.5 percent against 2011 and accounting for 17.7 percent of the country's total exports, the Communist Party of Vietnam Online Newspaper reported on Wednesday.

The former top export destination, the USA, was the second largest importer of Vietnamese goods, consuming 19.6 billion U.S. dollars in value, representing a year on year rise of 15.6 percent and 17.1 percent of Vietnam's total exports.

Other ASEAN countries ranked the third, importing 17.3 billion U.S. dollars Vietnamese goods, up 27.2 percent over 2011.

Japan and China came the fourth and the fifth, consuming 13.1 billion U.S. dollars and 12.2 billion U.S. dollars respectively.

According to report from the Voice of Vietnam on Wednesday, the state-run radio station, Vietnam's major export items include telephone sets, footwear, computers and garments.

According to Vietnam's authorities' statistics, China was the largest trade partner of Vietnam in 2012, exporting 28.9 billion U. S. dollars goods to neighboring Vietnam, up 17.6 percent against 2011. It was followed by ASEAN (21 billion U.S. dollars), the Republic of Korea (15.6 billion U.S. dollars), Japan (11.7 billion U.S. dollars), the EU (8.8 billion U.S. dollars), and the USA (4.7 billion U.S. dollars).

January 3, 2013

Source: Xinhua