THỪA THIÊN-HUẾ — The central province of Thừa Thiên-Huế aims to earn US$800 million from exports in 2017, a year-on-year increase of 11.58 per cent. 

The locality will diversify export commodities and seek new markets to attain the target, according to Nguyễn Thanh, Director of the provincial Department of Industry and Trade. 

The province, which is part of the central key economic region, will also press ahead with solutions to remove obstacles to business growth and boost exports of processed and hi-tech products, while gradually reducing the proportion of unprocessed goods in the export structure. 

It will also facilitate local exporters’ access to credit sources and encourage them to manufacture products that are Thừa Thiên-Huế’s strength. 

In the textile and apparel field, which is a big foreign currency earner, the province is going to call on businesses to gradually switch to free-on-board manufacturing instead of cut-make-trim, thereby improving export value and workers’ income, Thanh noted. Thừa Thiên-Huế raked in $717 million from exports in 2016, up 7.74 per cent from the previous year, which consisted of overseas shipments worth $292 million by domestic companies and $424 million made by foreign invested firms, respectively, rising by 4.91 per cent and 9.78 per cent from a year earlier. 

Up to 65 per cent of the total shipment was contributed by garment exports, which hit a record of over $465 million last year, up 8.98 per cent from 2015. Meanwhile, fibre and textile exports brought home $117 million, climbing 18.89 per cent and making up 16.32 per cent of the province’s total shipments. 

Aquatic exports approximated $47 million last year, a year-on-year increase of 26.62 per cent, data revealed. — VNS