Vietnam is targeting an average annual export growth of 11-12 percent until 2020 and gradual reduction of imports to wipe out the trade deficit by then and achieve a surplus by 2030.

The goals are set in the overseas market development plan of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, under which Asia will account for 46 percent of Vietnamese exports by 2020, while European countries will make up 20 percent, America 25 percent, Oceania 4 percent and Africa 5 percent, local Vietnam News daily reported on Monday.

The establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015 is expected to strengthen investment and trade ties among countries in the Southeast Asian bloc. Vietnam will step up trade promotion in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to ensure exports to the bloc increase by 10 percent a year on average to at least 31 billion US dollars by 2020, the ministry said.

Efforts would also be made to boost exports to other Asian markets like South Korea, Japan, and China.

According to the ministry, the economic recovery in the European Union (EU) along with the expected free trade agreement with it would open up opportunities for Vietnamese exporters. Exports to the EU are expected to rise by 15 percent a year to 58 billion US dollars by 2020.

The country will also increase exports to the United States and Canada by 15 percent a year and boost exports to countries in Africa, Latin America and Oceania.

The ministry has set forth measures to achieve the targets, including strengthening international cooperation and communication to help businesses understand and capitalize on the opportunities, improving the quality of export items, boosting exports of processed goods with high value added and key agricultural products like foodstuff, coffee, rubber and seafood, and reducing exports of crude oil and coal.