Plastic products at a supermarket in HCM City. The plastic industry is very hopeful of meeting this year’s export target of 3.2 billion USD. (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNS/VNA) – The local plastic industry, with solid growthin shipments, will surely meet its yearly export target of 3.2 billion USD,according to the Vietnam Plastics Association.
According to Ho Duc Lam, its chairman, said exports saw impressive growth lastyear to 3 billion USD while overall revenues jumped to 12 billion USD.
“Exports in the first nine months of the year increased by 5 percent and willcontinue to enjoy good growth in the rest months of the year.
“The US-China trade war has offered opportunities to Vietnamese plastics firmsto boost exports.”
According to the association, exports go to more than 150 countries andterritories, with the US and Japan being key markets.
In the domestic market, some industries, even those such as aerospace which usehigh-grade materials, are shifting to plastic products, and as a result saleshave grown rapidly, Lam said.
Locally-made plastic products are confidently taking on imports fromThailand, Malaysia and China, he said.
The industry has stepped up investment in technology and facilities and cooperationwith foreign partners to make more products meeting local and export demand, hesaid.
“Many countries have put up safeguard measures to protect their domesticplastics industry from imports. Some producers have shifted their production toVietnam, which requires the Government and business groups to ensuretransparency in the manufacture of products in Vietnam, and accuratecertificates of origin.
“Another challenge is that we are importing 60-70 percent of raw materials.
“The world commodities market has been volatile, affecting the industry.Besides, the Government plans to raise import tariffs on some raw materials,which will affect producers.”
Foreign investors are enamoured of Vietnam’s plastics industry due to its highgrowth rates, increasing exports and enormous potential, he said.
“But huge investments by foreign investors also pose challenges to Vietnamesefirms since they have to face fierce competition, requiring them to transformand invest in new technologies to improve productivity and cut costs.”
According to the VietnamPlastics Industry Development Plan for the period until 2020 approved by theMinistry of Industry and Trade, the industry is expected to achieve averageannual growth of 17.5 per cent in 2011-20.
The industry also targets to become a key sector by 2020 with a high andsustainable growth rate.
It seeks to graduallybuild a complete supply chain encompassing all stages from raw materialproduction to final processing, increasing the ratio of locally sourced rawmaterials to reduce reliance on imports.
Pham Thi Hue Anh of theUniversity of Economics - Technology for Industries said plastics firms need tofurther improve designs, models and quality, restructure, invest in advancedtechnologies, develop local sources of raw materials and cut costs to improvecompetitiveness.
The Government needs to have policies to encourage investment in raw materialproduction and develop supporting industries, she added.
The plastics industryhas nearly 4,000 enterprises, most of them small and medium-sized ones./.
VNA
