VietNamNet Bridge –
According to the General Department of Customs GDC, Vietnam’s
export turnover to Japan in
March 2011 still increased sharply through February, though people thought that
the earthquake and tsunami in Japan
would make the country’s demand for imports decrease.

The export turnover to Japan in Japan reached 772.4 million dollars
in March, much higher than that in February with 465 million dollars. However,
the figure still shows a lower export turnover than in January when 782 million
dollars worth of products were exported.

Among the export items, some
products saw export turnovers decrease sharply in March in comparison with
February and January, namely coal (24.43 million dollars vs 26.2 million dollars
in February and 31.68 million dollars in January). However, most of the other
export items saw the export turnover increase over February.

Garment export turnover, for
example, reached 132.58 million dollars, nearly double that of February (63.7
million dollars). Meanwhile, machine, equipment and component exports brought
90 million dollars in turnover, much higher than the export turnover of the
same products in February (30 million dollars).

The import turnover from Japan
in March also increased sharply, reaching 866.6 million dollar, higher than
that in February (652.6 million) and January (766.4 million dollar).

If considering imports in
the second half of March, after the earthquake and tsunami took place on March
11, one would see that among the 11 key categories of imports from Japan, only
two categories of products saw import turnover increase, including steel and
ships of different kinds. Meanwhile, the other nine categories of products such
as fabrics, garment materials, car parts all saw slight decreases.

The import turnover of the
11 key categories of products in the second half of March reportedly reached
441.1 million dollars, an increase of 15.6 million dollars over the first half
of the month.

Vietnam’s exports to Japan also decreased slightly in
the second half of March. The export turnover of Vietnam’s
11 key categories of products to Japan in the second half of the
month was 380.1 million dollars only, a decrease of 12.2 million dollars over
the first half of the month. Especially, footwear exports saw the sharpest
decreases.

To date, there has been no
official report about the possible influences of the earthquake and tsunami on Vietnam’s exports to Japan. In fact, Vietnamese
enterprises can still see opportunities to boost exports to Japan, especially in the short
term.

The Trade Research Institute
of Vietnam also believes that some export items will see short term growth,
because Vietnam’s
export items are mostly essential consumer goods, which are always in high
demand.

According to the institute, Vietnam can
boost the exports of farm produce and seacooking, materials and minerals. The
radiation leaks in Japan has
had big impacts on the environment in Japan, which will lead to the
higher demand for imports.

However, Vietnamese
enterprises have been warned that they need to satisfy high requirements on
food hygiene, and that the quarantine may be even harsher after the
catastrophe. Many enterprises have urged the Ministry of Industry and Trade to
organize a Vietnamese food trade fair in Japan in the second quarter, where
Vietnamese producers can introduce their products.

With the breakdown at Fukushima nuke plant, Japan has lost 30 percent of the
electricity supply, which will lead to the higher demand for coal and oil
imports. The information, plus the fighting situation in Libya would also help Vietnam’s crude oil and coal obtain
growth.

In the immediate time, due
to the catastrophe, it will take industrial production bases in Japan some time
to restore production. This will badly affect the import of electronics components
from Vietnam.
However, experts believe that it will not be too long before the demand for
imports increase again.

C. V