Monday, December 2,2024 - 14:54 GMT+7  Việt Nam EngLish 

Vietnam-Sweden trade in goods thrives thanks to EVFTA 

 Thursday, October 10,2024

AsemconnectVietnam - Trade cooperation between Vietnam and Sweden has grown steadily over the past 55 years. In recent years, Vietnam-Sweden trade has been growing steadily. According to data from the Vietnam Trade Office in Sweden, the growth of Sweden's imports from Vietnam for the period 2018-2022 reached an average of 9%/year and this is quite an impressive figure.

Particularly in 2022, the value of Vietnamese goods exported to Sweden reached 1.264 billion USD, up 5.4% year-on-year and imports reached 353 million USD, up 9.9% year-on-year. Total import and export turnover reached 1.617 billion USD, up 6.3% compared to 2021. Vietnam's main exports to Sweden are phones of all kinds, computers, electronic products and components, textiles, footwear, iron and steel products, spare parts, etc.
Vietnam's main imports from Sweden are telecommunications equipment, machinery and equipment of all kinds, and pharmaceuticals. Vietnamese rice products were previously almost absent in Sweden because they could not compete with rice from Cambodia and Thailand, now the turnover has increased to more than 3 million USD and is continuing to increase market share.
2023 has been a difficult year for the world economy due to the prolonged impact of many major fluctuations, such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict, China's zero-COVID policy and the policy responses of countries to deal with inflation. Weak aggregate demand and increased costs lead to a contraction in production and business, investment, and trade activities.
With such an overall economic picture, consumers have become increasingly pessimistic, limiting unnecessary shopping and spending, leading to reduced consumer demand and reduced imports. Vietnam's exports have recorded a sharp decline in many key products. Exports to Sweden have also fallen sharply in 2023.
With the Vietnam - European Union Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) signed on June 30, 2019 and effective from August 1, 2020, enormous trade opportunities are opening up for Vietnamese and EU businesses, including Sweden.
 However, it is difficult to assess the effectiveness of the EVFTA after more than 3 years of implementation when the agreement was properly implemented during the unstable period of the world economy due to the COVID-19 pandemic, then the Russia-Ukraine conflict that disrupted the supply and demand chain, energy and food crises, inflation is high, people cut spending. However, the EVFTA helps mitigate negative impacts on the economy and will gradually be effective.
The most obvious effect is that tax incentives help many Vietnamese products have a competitive advantage compared to competitors in the market. For example, for rice products, export turnover to Sweden used to be only a few tens of thousand to more than 100,000 USD due to not being able to compete with rice from Cambodia and Thailand, so far the turnover has increased to more than 3 million USD and is gradually increasing market share in this area. Similarly, some agricultural and fishery products with a tax of 0% in the first year also showed a clear competitive advantage.
For some processed and manufactured goods, EVFTA not only brings tax benefits but also helps Swedish businesses be more excited about the Vietnamese market, especially in the context that these businesses have a great demand to find new markets to shift investment and business.
Many Nordic business delegations have gone to Vietnam to survey such as Autoliv Group, specializing in the production of safety products for use in automobiles, with 72 factories in many countries around the world and sales revenue of 8.2 billion USD/year.
However, the Swedish market also has many challenges because of its small population, just over 10 million people, a small market, and high requirements for domestic consumer goods, so businesses in this country mainly import from distributors in the center of the EU. The small market and large geographical distance while there are no direct flights from Vietnam, as well as no cooperation in seaports and airports, also make it difficult to bring Vietnamese goods directly into the Swedish market. In addition, Vietnamese goods are exported to the EU market in general and Sweden in particular, if they want to enjoy tariff incentives, they must first comply with the regulations on origin from the stage of raw material production. Meanwhile, most of Vietnam's key export products have not been able to proactively source raw materials, so this will be a difficulty and challenge for Vietnamese businesses.
In addition to the certificate of origin, Vietnamese enterprises must also comply with other strict regulations, such as environmental issues and technical standards. Overcoming these difficulties, Vietnam's goods will have a firm foothold in the Swedish market in particular and the EU market in general.
Table 1: Import-export turnover and trade surplus between Vietnam and Sweden for the period 2018-2023
                                                                          Unit: Million USD
Year
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
Export
1,157
1,183
1,126
1,199
1,264
946
Import
344
372
352
321
353
342
Total import and export turnover
1,501
1,555
1,478
1,520
1,617
1,288
Surplus
813
811
774
878
911
604
Source: Calculated from data of the General Department of Vietnam Customs
Table 2: Import-export turnover and trade surplus between Vietnam and Sweden in the first 8 months of 2024
Unit: Million USD
Month
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
First 8 months of 2024
Export
139
61
79
76
78
77
95
80
685
Import
27
28
27
31
42
30
55
41
281
Total import and export turnover
166
89
106
107
120
107
150
121
966
Surplus
112
33
52
45
36
33
40
39
404
Source: According to calculations from data of the General Department of Vietnam Customs
According to statistics of the General Department of Vietnam Customs, in 2023, the import and export turnover of Vietnam – Sweden  reached 1,288 million USD, down 329 million USD or -20.34% compared to 2022, of which exports reached approximately 946 million USD, imports reached 342 million USD, the trade surplus maintained at a high level of 604 million USD but down 307 million USD, equivalent to -33.69% over the same period in 2022.
In the first 8 months of 2024, the import and export turnover of Vietnam – Sweden reached nearly 966 million USD, of which exports reached approximately 685 million, imports 281 million, and the trade surplus continued to be maintained at a high level of 404 million USD.
Export of Swedish goods to Vietnam
According to data from the General Department of Vietnam Customs, Sweden's exports of goods to Vietnam increased sharply in the first 8 months of 2024 to 281.34 million USD, up 22.07% over the same period last year. Particularly in August 2024, export turnover reached more than 44 million USD, down 25.38% compared to July 2024 but up 59.90% compared to August 2023.
Table 3: Exportquota of some major Swedish goods to Vietnam in August 2024
 Unit: thousand USD
Product Name
July 2024
August of 2024
August 2024 compared to July 2024 (%)
Total Value
55,026,955
41,061,008
-25.38
Other petroleum products
373,318
28,332
-92.41
Chemical Products
1,183,380
1,528,218
29.14
Pharmaceutical product
20,928,732
11,914,419
-43.07
Raw Material Plastics
466,530
162,985
-65.06
Plastic Products
963,927
767,929
-20.33
Wood and wood products
690,675
873,181
26.42
Paper of all kinds
5,529,451
2,889,504
-47.74
Iron and steel of all kinds
1,527,802
1,040,716
-31.88
Iron and steel products
380,667
813,260
113.64
Computers, electronic products and components
975,926
97,782
-89.98
Phones of all kinds and components
45,815
 
-100
Other machinery, equipment, tools and spare parts
17,473,848
17,125,065
-2
Others
4,486,884
3,819,618
-14.87
Source: Compiled data from the General Department of Vietnam Customs
 Sweden's import of goods from Vietnam
In the first 8 months of 2024, Sweden's imports of goods from Vietnam reached 685.4 million USD, up 6.66% over the same period last year. In which, phones of all kinds and components were the largest export items with a turnover of 238 million USD, down -12.49% over the same period last year, followed by machinery, equipment, tools and other spare parts reached 77.5 million USD, up 2.82%; textiles and garments reached 65.7 million USD, up 6.67%.
Table 4: Import turnover of some key Swedish products from Vietnam in the first 8 months of 2024 
Unit: USD
Group/item name
August of 2024
First 8 months of 2024
Value (USD)
Compared to
July 2024
(%)
Compared to
August 2023
(%)
Value (USD)
Compared to
first eight
months of 2023
(%)
Total Value
79,255,965
-16.68
9.67
685,437,862
6.66
Seafood
1,389,010
-29.96
-21.72
15,161,731
17.7
Plastic Products
2,070,200
5.35
74.88
14,155,158
70.71
Handbags, wallets, suitcases, hats and umbrellas
2,012,661
-4.55
-10.1
17,069,799
5.83
Rattan, bamboo, sedge and carpet products
835,620
-29.28
25.56
5,944,259
0.73
Wood and wood products
1,068,050
-3.9
-0.82
13,735,300
34.59
Shoes of all kinds
3,411,756
-14.45
75.8
35,994,265
3
Textile, garment, leather, footwear raw materials
1,101,677
259.81
73.97
3,606,739
31.17
Iron and steel products
1,230,469
-19.81
75.16
7,285,516
-14.62
Computers, electronic products and components
9,129,012
38.25
27.68
64,362,411
23.71
Phones of all kinds and components
19,290,160
-36.33
-35.79
238,066,257
-12.49
Other machinery, equipment, tools and spare parts
10,122,281
-47.75
21.45
77,558,251
2.82
Toys, sports equipment and parts
689,683
-57.16
17.05
7,161,269
36.81
Textiles
12,366,747
8.43
105.35
65,796,993
6.67
Others
14,538,641
27.33
47.04
119,539,913
56.28
Source: Compiled from data of the General Department of Vietnam Customs
 T.Huong
Source: Vitic
 
 
 

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