Promoting Trade Development, Import and Export in the Southeast Region

“Highlights” of import and export

Binh Duong Province, the “industrial capital” of the South, is considered a significant turning point in the local import and export activities in 2024, with an estimated trade surplus of 10 billion USD. According to the Binh Duong Department of Industry and Trade, the province’s export turnover in 2024 is estimated to reach 34.5 billion USD, an increase of 13% compared to last year, surpassing the annual plan by nearly 3%, bringing Binh Duong’s export value to account for over 10% of the national export turnover.

Nguyen Thanh Toan, Director of the Binh Duong Department of Industry and Trade, noted that the surplus of nearly 10 billion USD demonstrates that businesses in the province have good resilience against market impacts and are proactively adapting effectively in production and export. Enterprises have effectively capitalized on opportunities from free trade agreements to expand their markets, especially in the U.S., EU, Japan, and China. This reflects sustainability in the province’s economic development.

Many of Binh Duong’s key export items have shown impressive growth in 2024, such as: wood exports reaching nearly 5 billion USD (up 27.7%, accounting for 18.8% of the province’s total exports); textiles reaching over 2.3 billion USD (up 12.8%); leather shoes over 1.3 billion USD (up 18.7%)… The main export markets for the province are: the United States, EU, Canada, Japan, South Korea, China…

In particular, the U.S. market accounts for about one-third of the province’s total export turnover. This is not only the largest consumer market but also has the potential for sustainable development for businesses in Binh Duong Province. Strengthening exports to this market helps local businesses expand production scale, create more jobs, and enhance product value.

In Dong Nai Province, the average export turnover growth rate during the period of 2020 – 2022 reached 14.2% and around 4.8% for the period of 2020 – 2023. Specifically, in the first 10 months of 2024, the export turnover is estimated to reach 19.5 billion USD, with a surplus of 5.4 billion USD, achieving about 84% of the target set for 2024.

Thai Thanh Phong, Deputy Director of the Dong Nai Department of Industry and Trade, stated that recently, several industrial zones in the province have formed and developed industrial linkages, either through connections made by some businesses themselves or through trade promotion programs in industries such as textiles, leather, electronics, and wood processing.

Currently, Dong Nai is also a locality with trade relations with about 182 countries and territories; of which, export turnover to Asia accounts for about 50%; to America (33%); to Europe (about 15%); the remainder is Africa and Oceania with major markets such as the United States, Japan, China, South Korea, Belgium, Germany, Thailand…

In fact, the infrastructure of the Southeastern region has shown clear development, reflected in the progress of constructing a series of important projects such as: Long Thanh Airport, T3 terminal at Tan Son Nhat Airport, Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 3, highways; International Financial Center in Ho Chi Minh City, Free Trade Center in Ba Ria – Vung Tau (Cai Mep – Thi Vai area)… Thus, contributing importantly to promoting the development of trade and import-export sectors.

Promoting multiple trade promotion solutions

According to Vo Van Minh, Chairman of the Binh Duong Provincial People’s Committee, the trade surplus of over 10 billion USD is the result of close coordination between the government and the business community. The province will continue to invest strongly in industrial infrastructure, digital transformation, and incentive policies to maintain growth momentum in 2025.

With major investment projects such as the Lego factory valued at 1.3 billion USD expected to operate in early 2025, and the Pandora factory worth over 150 million USD, Binh Duong is gradually asserting its position as the “industrial capital,” while aiming to become a hub for modern industrial production, applying green and sustainable technology.

The Binh Duong Department of Industry and Trade announced it will continue to strengthen connections, exchanges, trade promotions, and provide timely information to industry associations and businesses through monthly briefing programs organized by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Binh Duong province is also strongly investing in industrial and logistics infrastructure, focusing on upgrading logistics centers and expanding transport connections, particularly strategic routes linking ports and industrial zones. It is promoting support policies for businesses, from accessing international markets, organizing trade fairs, to programs for trade connection.

Additionally, Binh Duong is focusing on enhancing workers’ skills, improving production processes, and increasing product quality to better meet the stringent requirements of the US and European markets. The province is also encouraging businesses to apply green technology and invest in environmentally friendly products to meet the increasing demands of the international market for sustainable products.

According to the Dong Nai Department of Industry and Trade, over the past time, the province has intensified trade promotion activities both domestically and internationally, focusing on expanding, diversifying, and multi-purposing markets to avoid dependence on a few major markets and capitalizing on potential export markets. On the other hand, it is boosting exports by diversifying markets and products, increasing the proportion of deep-processed export goods, and strongly developing new competitive items in regional and international markets.

Through connecting domestic raw material supply sources to overcome the shortage of imported raw materials from China, Dong Nai has also implemented various solutions to expedite customs clearance by developing logistics systems and reforming customs procedures… to support enterprises in maintaining production activities and import-export operations.

Dong Nai province is enhancing the dissemination of information about bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements to raise businesses’ awareness so that they can build production plans accordingly, maximizing the advantages of the free trade agreements. The province is improving the quality of information and market forecasts, particularly for key markets such as the US, Europe, Japan, the EU, and China, to timely warn of regulations regarding barriers and potential issues that could arise with export goods.