What Does Vietnam Export The Most To Europe?

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Table of Contents

I. Vietnam’s Exports to Europe in Recent Years

Europe is the fourth largest importer of Vietnam, just after Asia and North America.

The European Union and Vietnam signed a Trade Agreement and an Investment Protection Agreement on 30 June 2019. The European Parliament subsequently gave its permission to both Agreements on 12 February 2020, and the Free Trade Agreement was concluded by Council on 30 March 2020. 

Vietnam is the EU’s 15th trade-in goods partner and the EU’s largest trading partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2020.

In the first 5 months of 2022, the export revenue of Vietnamese shipments to European countries amounted to 27.67 billion USD (+21.1% compared with 2021). 

Regarding the number of goods shipped, Europeans imported 15.7% of Vietnam’s products.

Vietnam’s main exports to the EU are telephone sets, electronic products, footwear, textiles and clothing, coffee, rice, seafood, and furniture.

II. Leading Vietnamese Export Products to Europe

1) Furniture (Export value: US$5.48 billion)

Furniture consumption in Europe is incredibly strong, therefore, it is a potential furniture import partner of Vietnam.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam’s export value of wood and wood products in the first four months of 2022 reached US$5.48 billion, up 4.5% over the same period last year.

In the first 11 months of 2021, the export turnover of this group of goods to the EU is estimated at 528.1 million USD, up 15.9% over the same period in 2020.

Currently, the US and Europe account for 80% of Vietnam’s wooden furniture export market share and still have great opportunities for development.

2) Iron and Steel (Export value: US$5.1 billion)

The European Union (EU) is ranked second in the top steel export markets of Vietnam, accounting for more than 19% of the industry’s export proportion.

In 2021, Vietnam’s iron and steel were on the list of 8 items with an export turnover of over 10 billion USD.

Exports to the EU market jumped to 19.32% in the first quarter of 2022.

Iron and steel export value reached more than 5.1 billion USD, up 13.7% in the first half of 2022.

3) Computers, electronic products and components (Export value: US$3.11 billion)

The export sales of electronic machinery, computers and components are increasing in Vietnam.

These goods belong to a group of high-growth export items, with a value of 3.11 billion USD, up 15.3% in the first 5 months of 2022.

4) Seafood (Export value: US$2.4 billion)

Statistics show that, in the first 3 months of 2022, seafood export value reached 2.4 billion USD, up 40% compared to 2021.

Particularly, the EU market, after 2 consecutive years of declining exports, has grown significantly in recent years. 

In the first two months of 2022, pangasius exports to the EU reached $28 million, up nearly 76% shrimp exports reached $159 million, this number goes up 66% over the same period in 2021.

Among them, single exports to three main markets of the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium increased by 77%, 59% and 82%, respectively.

5) Footwear (Export value: US$1.8 billion)

Footwear is an item on the list of export products of Vietnam with positive changes in export.

After the EVFTA Agreement officially took effect, Vietnam’s footwear exports to the EU market gradually recovered. 

From January to April of 2022, footwear export reached $1.8 billion in value, up 19 percent over the last period.

Vietnamese footwear currently has an advantage over competing countries such as China, Myanmar, India, and Cambodia.

6) Textile and garment (Export value: US$1.3 billion)

Exports of textile and clothing to the EU market also increased significantly in the first 4 months of 2022, amounting to nearly $1.3 billion, up 34.6%. % compared to the same period last year.

Large enterprises in the industry have relatively positive comments about the growth of garment exports to the EU soon. Because this is a strong group of products in Vietnam, they will be long-term ordered in large quantities.

7) Coffee (Export value: US$900 million)

According to the General Department of Customs, Vietnam’s coffee exports to the EU in the first 6 months of 2022 have prospered after many years of decline. 

A record was made with 412,639 tons of coffee, worth nearly $900 million, increasing sharply by 41.9% in volume and by 75% in value over the same period last year.

The amount of coffee exported from Vietnam to most markets in the EU has grown (export turnover to Germany +13.9%; Italy +13.5%; Spain +47.5%).

8) Cashew nuts (Export value: US$290 million)

The output and value of cashew exports to the EU  increased despite the many impacts of the epidemic in 2021.

In April 2022, Vietnam’s cashew exports reached 49,000 tons, equivalent to 290 million USD, up 22% in volume and 21% in value compared to March.

Particularly, EU countries such as the Netherlands, Germany, the UK, and Italy are in the top 10 cashew import markets from Vietnam.

9) Rubber (Export value: US$175 million)

In the first 11 months of 2021, rubber exports to the EU reached about 100 thousand tons, equivalent to 175 million USD, up 33.7% in volume and 72.6% in value over the same period in 2020.

Among EU member markets, Vietnamese rubber is exported mainly to the following countries: Germany (reaching 62 million USD), Italy ( 25 million USD), Spain ( 22 million USD), and the Netherlands ( 17 million USD).

10) Vegetables (Export value: US$303 million)

The EU is one of the largest export markets for Vietnam’s agricultural products. 

Among agricultural products, Vietnam’s vegetables and fruits are European countries’ imports with the fourth largest quantity.

Regarding the structure of export products, the proportion of Vietnam’s fruit and vegetable exports to the EU accounted for 7.8% of the total export turnover.

In  2021, the export value of vegetables and fruits to the EU reached 303 million USD, up 17.4% compared to the value in 2020. 

11) Rice (Export value: US$23 million)

In the first quarter of 2022, Vietnam exported more than 22,500 tons of rice to this market. This creates an increase of nearly 4 times in volume and 4.3 times in value compared to the same period in 2021.

Moreover, statistics show that rice exports to the EU in the first 4 months of 2022 reached over 30,000 tons, worth 23 million USD.

In the EU, Italy has become the top country in importing rice from Vietnam, with import turnover increasing 26 times over the same period. Some other key markets are Germany, France, and the Netherlands.

12) Black pepper (Export value: US$13.87 million)

Compared to other import markets of Vietnam, the speed of pepper exports from Vietnam to the European region increased the most (up 92.9%) (in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the first quarter of 2021).

EU imports of pepper from Vietnam reached over 13 million EUR (13.87 million USD), up to 110.8% compared to January 2021. Among EU markets, Vietnamese pepper is mainly exported to Germany and the Netherlands.

III. Vietnam Trade Surplus By Sectors

In 2021, product categories of Vietnam exported to foreign countries created a trade surplus of around $77.6 billion, increasing by 285.2% compared to the surplus of $20.1 billion in 2020. 

Thanks to the active production and export of the following products, Vietnam’s industry posted a trade balance surplus and positive net exports.

Sectors Value
1. Electrical machinery, equipment $61.5 billion
2. Footwear $23.1 billion
3. Furniture, bedding, prefabricated buildings $16.6 billion
4. Knit or crochet clothing, accessories $16.5 billion
5. Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet) $13.9 billion
6. Machinery including computers $4.5 billion
7. Fish $3.7 billion
8. Leather/animal gut articles $3.5 billion
9. Toys, games $3.4 billion
10. Rubber, rubber articles $3.2 billion

As the data showed, electrical machinery and equipment produced the highest surplus in international trade in 2021, revealing the potential of electrical products made in Vietnam. 

IV. Vietnam Trade Deficit By Sectors

Below are exports from  Vietnam that results in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. 

These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Vietnam’s goods trails Vietnamese importer spending on foreign products.

Sectors Value
1. Plastics, plastic articles -$11 billion
2. Knit or crochet fabric -$6.4 billion
3. Mineral fuels including oil  -$6.3 billion
4. Vehicles -$4.9 billion
5. Organic chemicals -$4.8 billion
6. Optical, technical, and medical apparatus -$4.4 billion
7. Iron, steel -$4.1 billion
8. Pharmaceuticals -$3.5 billion
9. Food industry waste, animal fodder -$3 billion
10. Other chemical goods -$2.7 billion

V. Main European Nations Importing Vietnamese Goods 

European enterprises imported about 6.7.% of Vietnamese products. According to the data collected in 2021, import partners of Vietnam who come from Europe included nations below: 

As the table shows, Germany was the largest exporter to Vietnam in the Eu with the highest import turnover of € 3 732 million. Two more active importers originating from the EU were France (€ 1 244 million) and Italy (€ 1 185 million).

Regarding the market share, Luxembourg (2.1 %) had the lowest proportion of Vietnam in its extra-EU exports. The second partner recorded an impressive share in Cyprus with a percentage of about 0.8% of the total export.

Overall, thanks to the EVFTA Agreement (Vietnam – European Union), exports of Vietnam to the European Union (EU) have many advantages. Import tariffs for most products originating from Vietnam are removed by about 70-100%. 

This makes Vietnam a full potential market for European enterprises to import goods. 

However, there are still difficulties in importing trade partners from Europe, including regulations, paperwork, and finding reliable business partners.   

With extensive experience in import and export, specifically in Vietnam and Europe markets. our VIEC sourcing agent can help your business connect directly to Vietnamese manufacturers, and handle all of the paperwork that you need to carry on

 

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