Speaking at the forum, Deputy Minister of Trade Luong Van Tu said with an average annual export turnover rate of 20 percent, Vietnam is expected to reach US$100 billion by 2010. However, there are still major challenges to overcome as foreign countries require high requirements for imported products, while Vietnamese goods exported to foreign countries have low added-value and weak competitiveness, he said.

The Deputy Minister asked local enterprises to strengthen cooperation to boost export activities. For key items, such as rice, pepper and cashew nut, it is essential to have an effective strategy to export them at competitive prices. Local businesses should promote cooperation with foreign enterprises and distributors to make use of their technology, investment capital and experience in order to boost export activities, he added.