South Korea must work to boost shipments of consumer goods to Vietnam to maintain the growth of its exports to the world's third-largest destination for South Korean goods, a report said Thursday.

The report from the Korea International Trade Association noted Vietnam's own exports were expected to shrink following the election of Donald Trump as the next US president, suggesting South Korea's exports of industrial parts and materials to Vietnam may dwindle in turn.

"While Vietnam's economic growth in 2017 is expected to fall short of a 6 percent increase as earlier predicted due to the outcome of the US election, the Vietnamese government's policy to expand local consumption is expected to provide a new opportunity to South Korean firms," the report said.

It added Vietnam's consumer spending was expected to spike 11.5 percent on-year to $117.4 billion next year.

Vietnam is the world's third-largest importer of South Korean products, purchasing $22.4 billion worth of South Korean goods in 2015, according to an earlier report from KITA.

"The year 2017 will mark a great transition in Vietnam, when not only the Vietnamese government, but also its people and consumers will demand social and economic improvements, seeking better and more reliable products," the report said. (Yonhap)