Vietnam posted an impressive US$101.93 billion worth of export turnovers in the year to the middle of October, up 15.7% compared to the same period last year, according to statistics issued by Vietnam Customs.

Exports of mobile phones and spare parts stood at US$16.67 billion. The commodity group of computer and electronics products came in second place, with export volumes reaching US$8.16 billion.

Garment businesses posted a US$13.91 billion revenue from exporting textile products, US$6.31 billion in the footwear sector and US$0.71 billion in the leather sector.

The country’s traditional export staples also posted high revenues. While seafood products surpassed US$5 billion and crude oil exports stood at US$5.65 billion, wood products reached US$4.10 billion.

According to a survey issued by the Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of Ho Chi Minh City (HAWA), customers from European countries as well as Japan and the US tend to order products from Vietnam as they are cheaper than those from China.

Dang Quoc Hung, Vice President of HAWA, claimed that this is a great opportunity for Vietnamese enterprises. “However, it is also a challenge as sometimes those companies are unable to meet delivery deadlines, which might affect their reputation,” Hung emphasized.