Viet Nam’s export turnover is expected to reach more than 48 billion USD in 2007, a 20.5 percent increase against last year, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said.

Since the beginning of this year, the country’s key export items such as garments and textiles, footwear, electronics, woodwork, seafood, coffee, pepper and plastics have had high export turnover growth.

However, strong growth has only been seen in several markets, including the ASEAN, the EU and the US . Whereas Vietnamese goods’ export turnovers have increased slowly or even decreased in other traditional markets like China , Japan and Australia .

Trade experts attribute the situation to Vietnamese goods’ weak competitiveness in the world market, adding that several staples are facing trade barriers in their export markets. (VNA)