Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade said that the country targets to earn 37 billion U.S. dollars from exports in the second half of this year, the local newspaper Liberty Saigon reported Thursday. The target was set forth at the online meeting on the country' s industrial production and trade activities in the first half of this year, held by the ministry on Wednesday. According to the ministry, Vietnam suffered a 10.13 percent decrease year-on- year in export turnover in the first six months this year to 27.6 billion U.S. dollars. To ensure the whole year target of a three percent increase in export turnover which approved by the National Assembly of Vietnam, or 64.68 billion U.S. dollars compared with 62.9 billion U.S. dollars of the previous year, the country will have to exert much efforts in the last six months, said deputy minister Bui Xuan Khu. To support local exporters, the meeting put forth some measures including intensifying trade promotion, seeking new export markets and establishing the trade promotion fund, said the newspaper. In addition, domestic exporters should make full use of the government's subsidized loan program of four percent to maintain production and business in the last months of the year, said Khu. 