HO CHI MINH CITY: Ho Chi Minh (HCM) City is striving to promote higher-value exports, integrate logistics and adopt more enterprise-focused policies to sustain growth and make better use of free trade agreements (FTAs), according to its officials.
Speaking at a conference on promoting trade and supply chains organised by the municipal Department of Industry and Trade on Sept 21, Le Van Danh, deputy director of the department, said the city’s exports topped US$65.8bil in the first eight months of 2026, up 7.82% year-on-year.
The city accounted for about 18% of the country’s total trade, maintaining its lead nationally.
Vice-chairman of the city People’s Committee, Nguyen Loc Ha, said its trade strategy for until 2030 aims for average annual export growth of 10% to 11%.
Processed and manufactured industrial products are expected to account for more than 90% of exports by 2030, with technology products accounting for around 70%.
Markets covered by FTAs are expected to buy more than 75% of the city’s exports.
Ha said rapid changes in global trade and supply chains, together with opportunities created by FTAs, are placing greater demands on business competitiveness.
To maintain export momentum through the end of the year and in 2026-2030, he called for a focus on several strategic priorities. “The immediate focus is to promote higher-quality, higher-value exports.”
He said the city needs to provide enterprises with better support in terms of market information, technical standards and market access requirements, and businesses need to upgrade their production capacity, product quality and branding to meet international standards.
He said the city would further develop port and logistics infrastructure and high-tech zones to enable import-export businesses to participate more deeply in global supply chains.
It would also strengthen links between import-export enterprises and logistics providers, while making better use of seaports, logistics infrastructure, industrial parks, export processing zones and production and trade hubs, he said.
He called for a stronger enterprise-centred approach from municipal authorities, with businesses’ problems being addressed with clearly assigned responsibilities, deadlines, and measurable outcomes.
Ngo Chung Khanh, deputy director general of the foreign market development and multilateral trade policy department at the Industry and Trade Ministry, said that while tariff preferences under FTAs remain vital, global buyers are increasingly focusing on rules of origin, supply chain traceability, regulatory compliance and corporate resilience.
Making better use of FTAs should, therefore, go beyond tariff preferences and be linked to selecting suitable markets and products, improving supply chain management, diversifying suppliers and customers and proactively meeting new market requirements, he said.
“There remains considerable room to benefit from FTAs, and the important issue is how businesses make use of it.”
He pointed to the European Union, Canada, Mexico, and the United Kingdom, where more than 90% of tariff lines on Vietnamese exports have been abolished, saying Vietnamese exports still account for only a small share of total imports in these markets, indicating considerable untapped potential. — Viet Nam News/ANN
