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Digital transformation is considered one of feasible measures to improve the quality of agricultural products, thus promoting the consumption of farm produce.
Many businesses and production establishments have equipped smart phones for farmers to enhance connection between production and consumption.
In concentrated fruit-growing areas, many households have registered QR codes and origin traceability stamps on farm produce to improve the value for their products.
However, experts said more efforts and engagement of relevant sectors are needed for promoting digital transformation in agricultural production, adding that measures should be mapped out to help farmers sell products in the harvest season or in the peak season.
Grab is one of the businesses that are operating proactively in supporting farmers in selling products. Since early 2020, it has cooperated with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, and the Vietnam Cooperative Alliance to support farmers and cooperatives in promoting their digital transformation capacity.
Through training activities, members of over 800 cooperatives have been equipped with knowledge and skills on technology application and e-commerce to more effectively connect with consumers and promote the sale of products, thus increasing revenue. This is expected to minimise inventory when the crops are bountiful.
Vietnam, Czech Republic see benefits from stronger economic cooperation
Vietnam and the Czech Republic have complementary economic structures, so both sides will benefit from stronger bilateral cooperation, said Vietnamese Trade Counselor in the European nation Nguyen Thi Hong Thuy.
Talking to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA)'s resident correspondent in Prague, Thuy said Vietnam has strength in the production of goods that the Czech Republic does not produce or produces little such as light industrial and agro-forestry-aquatic products; while the Czech Republic is a powerhouse in heavy industry.
The bilateral trade has doubled in the past five years, from 1.04 billion USD in 2017 to 2.08 billion USD last year, she noted.
Phones, tablets, computers and electronic products account for the lion’s share of Vietnamese shipments to the Czech Republic, at about 40%. Their proportion amounted to 55.47% in 2021 alone. From the central European nation’s side, its top export earners to Vietnam is mechanical machinery, which made up 15% of the Czech Republic’s total goods volume sold to the Southeast Asian country in 2021.
According to Thuy, one of the advantages that can contribute to strengthening economic and trade cooperation between the two countries is the Vietnamese expatriate community in the Czech Republic. Concerning the percentage of population, the group has the highest density, evenly spread across all regions, most of whom engage in the retail, restaurant, import-export, and distribution businesses at different scales.
Vietnam is a gateway to ASEAN member states for the Czech Republic, while the latter helps link the former to EU nations, particularly Germany, Poland, Slovakia, and Austria, she said, adding that the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) also brings about trade-investment incentives for their trade.
Thuy also pointed out a number of challenges facing the two nations, including geographical distance, increasing logistics costs, and the EU’s complicated and fickle system of import management policies.
CPTPP helps raise Vietnam’s exports to member markets: official
In the recent three years after the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) took effect, trade revenue between Vietnam and other member countries has seen two-digit growth every year, said Director of the Multilateral Trade Policy Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) Luong Hoang Thai.
Statistics show that in the first 10 months of 2022, total trade turnover between Vietnam and CPTPP members reached 88.1 billion USD, an increase of about 19.2% over the same period last year, with Vietnam’s exports hitting 45.1 billion USD, up 22.1% year on year, Thai said at a conference in Hanoi on December 26 to review three-year implementation of the deal.
Impressive growth has been recorded in the import-export revenue between Vietnam and CPTPP countries that have yet to sign a free trade agreement (FTA) with Vietnam, including Canada and Mexico, he noted.
Specifically, in the first 10 months of 2022, Vietnam earned about 6 billion USD from exporting goods to Canada, a year-on-year rise of 24.1%, while the figure was about 4.6 billion USD from the Mexican market, up 9.9% year on year.
However, Thai also pointed to a number of limitation during the exploitation of the deal, including a modest market share in the CPTPP markets, and unequal chances for domestic and FDI firms.
Bui Tuan Hoan, head of the American Market Division under the MoIT’s Department of European-American Markets held that despite positive growth in exports, domestic businesses have still faced many difficulties, especially in logistics cost, when exporting goods to CPTPP markets, particularly American markets due to large geographical distances.
High requirements on products’ quality and food safety in those markets have also been another challenge for Vietnamese exporters.
Hoan said that the MoIT will continue to work with ministries, sectors and localities to support domestic businesses in dealing with difficulties facing them during the exploitation of the deal, while assisting them in improving their competitiveness to ensure that they are on the same footing with FDI firms.
Participants at the event sought measures to make full use of the deal, and gave advice to exporters in how to optimise CPTPP advantages in the future.
Registered FDI capital down, disbursed capital up
Statistics recently unveiled by the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) show registered FDI capital into the Vietnamese economy has fallen slightly while disbursed FDI capital has surged considerably this year.
Vietnam attracted nearly US$27.72 billion in FDI this year, equivalent to 89% of last year’s figure, said the FIA.
The influence of global political conflicts, high inflationary pressure and supply chain disruptions are putting significant downward pressure on global investment flows in 2022, negatively affecting investment flows abroad of major economies, especially investment partners of Vietnam, said Do Nhat Hoang, director of the FIA.
Despite a slight decrease, many foreign businesses decided to expand operations in Vietnam, especially in the fields of manufacturing high-tech and electronic products. Among them, Samsung Electro-mechanics Vietnam based in Thai Nguyen province registered to increase capital twice, US$920 million and US$267 million, while Samsung Electronics in Ho Chi Minh City decided to raise capital by an additional US$841 million.
Meanwhile, the disbursed FDI capital rose 13.5% year on year to nearly US$22.4 billion – a positive sign that indicates businesses are gradually recovering, maintaining and expanding production after the pandemic.
Overall, there are 108 countries and territories pouring investment into Vietnam this year, said the FIA.
Singapore took the lead, injecting nearly US$6.46 billion, down 39.7% compared to 2021. It was followed by the Republic of Korea (US$4.88 billion, down 1.5%), and Japan (US$4.78 billion, up 22.7%).
Foreign businesses invested in 19 out of 21 national economic sectors, with processing and manufacturing leading the way with a total investment of more than US$16.8 billion.
Vietnam’s 2022 trade turnover exceeds US$730 billion
Vietnam is set to fetch US$732 billion in foreign trade this year, representing an annual rise of 10%, said the Ministry of Trade and Industry at a year-end meeting in Hanoi on December 26.
This is the first time the country’s import-export turnover has surpassed the US$700 billion mark.
Of the total, exports are projected to rise 10.5% to bring in US$371.5 billion. Among the export items, 39 commodities earned more than US$1 billion each, and nine commodities recorded more than US$10 billion each.
Meanwhile, Vietnam spent US$360.5 billion on imports, an increase of 8.5%. As a result, the local economy enjoyed a trade surplus of approximately US$11 billion, marking the seven years in a row that it has produced a trade surplus.
However, the export structure remains unbalanced, with the group of processed industrial products making up more than 86% of the total export turnover.
In addition, about 74% of the export value was generated by FDI businesses, while the export capacity of domestic enterprises, especially small and medium enterprises, is low.
Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Quoc Khanh said exports began to fall in the fourth quarter due to the global shrinking market, falling orders, rising competition, and rising input costs.
The diversification of markets for some products, such as vegetables and fruits, is still slow, as it does not meet the requirements of standards and quality, or businesses have yet to make good use of FTAs Vietnam has signed with its partners.
Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Minh Vu warned 2023 would be a difficult year as the global economy is predicted to fall into a technical recession, leading to a decrease in purchasing power and consumption globally. Furthermore, trading partners are set to tighten import-export regulations, requiring Vietnamese businesses to develop appropriate response scenarios.
Sharing the view, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Quoc Khanh said the game would be more rigorous and competitive. However, he said the trade sector has still set the target of raising the total export turnover by about 6% compared to this year.
Retailers get ready for busiest shopping season of the year
With the Lunar New Year (Tet) around the corner, retailers are scrambling to stockpile goods to meet the imminent surge in demand.
A representative of Saigon Co.op said stocks of fresh foods have been doubled so that its Co.opmart, Co.opXtra, Co.op Food, and Co.opSmile stores could meet any surge in demand during Tet.
Saigon Co.op has also increased by 20-50 per cent the stock of goods it is selling under the city’s price stablisation programme and of essential goods, he said.
To ensure consumer price stability, it has allocated most of its budget to nine items under the programme – rice, sugar, cooking oil, pork, poultry meat, poultry eggs, processed food, fruits and vegetables, and seafood, the representative said.
Saigon Co.op will also increase its supply of ready-to-eat dishes.
Nguyen Trong Tuan, operations director of WinMart supermarket system, said the number of customers shopping at WinMart/WinMart+ has increased sharply since early this month.
They mainly buy essential goods and Tet gift baskets, and the numbers are expected to go up even further between the beginning of January and Tet, which falls on January 22, he said.
WinCommerce had readied stocking plans for Tet a few months ago, and they involve increasing stocks by 20-30 per cent from last year, he said.
“In the fresh food category, we focus on certain items such as vegetables, fruits and meat.
“Traditional Tet items such as fruit gift hampers, banh chung (square glutinous rice cake) and vegetable pickles are also stocked in large quantities and at good prices with promotions of up to 50 per cent.”
Stocks of other commonly consumed items during Tet such as confectionery and beverages have increased by 20 per cent, he said.
WinCommerce has also increased the supply of dry foods and regional specialties, he added.
Forecasting shopping demand during Tet to be equal to or higher than before the pandemic, Central Retail’s GO!, Big C and Tops Market supermarket chains have also stocked up abundantly.
They have increased stocks of pork, beef, seafood, vegetables, and fruits and are selling a range of fruit hampers with imported items and specialties from around Viet Nam.
Indonesia plans to export natural gas to Vietnam in 2026
Indonesia aims to export natural gas to Vietnam starting 2026 from the Tuna offshore block located near the Indonesian and Vietnamese maritime border, according to Indonesian Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Arifin Tasrif.
Indonesia may deliver 100 to 150 million standard cubic feet per day (MMSCFD) of gas through a gas pipeline from the Tuna block operated by Harbour Energy and ZN Asia Ltd - subsidiary of Russia's state-owned oil company Zarubezhneft, Arifin said.
Arifin said that Vietnam's energy demand is very huge, especially for industry. In addition to gas exports, Indonesia and Vietnam have signed a cooperation agreement in terms of renewable energy.
Vietnam currently operates hydroelectric plants with a total capacity of up to 70 TWH, so the cooperation between the two countries will complement each other, he noted.
CPTPP expansion a potential boon for Vietnam
The hopes of the United Kingdom, China, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Uruguay and others to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) will have knock-on effects for Vietnam.
Luong Hoang Thai, director of Multilateral Trade Policy under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), acknowledged the potential for Vietnam to grow alongside major trade deal expansion at a December 26 conference to summarise the achievements of Vietnam after three years in the CPTPP.
“During the past time, the MoIT has cooperated with ministries and the bloc’s members to discuss the expansion of the CPTPP in the context that a number of economies are interested in being members,” Thai said.
“Having more members from Asia in particular means that Vietnam will lose the advantage of being a pioneer in the region in establishing the relationship with countries in CPTPP – thus, the business community needs to foster the opportunities more rapidly in order to get the full benefits from the agreement,” he said.
In 2021, the total export turnover of Vietnam to CPTPP members reached $45.7 billion, up 18.1 per cent on-year. The import turnover from these members to Vietnam was $45.5 billion, up 37.6 per cent on-year.
In the first ten months of 2022, the total import-export value between Vietnam and CPTPP economies was $88.1 billion, up 19.2 per cent on-year, including $45.1 billion in export value and $43 billion in import turnover.
The CPTPP is a free trade agreement between Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, New Zealand, Singapore, and Vietnam.
Ecuador filed its application to join at the end of 2021, while Costa Rica announced an intention to apply in July this year. The UK began negotiations about joining in February, while China submitted a formal application in May.
Thai Binh Economic Zone receives 700 million USD in foreign investment
Lien Ha Thai Industrial Park, within the Thai Binh Economic Zone, has attracted over 720 million USD in foreign investment after two years of infrastructure construction, according to local authorities.
The impressive figure was due to special preferential policies and the area’s proximity to seaports and Cat Bi Airport in neighbouring Hai Phong.
Thai Thuy District’s Deputy Secretary Do Van Hien said the district handed over 588 hectares of cleared land to the infrastructure investor Green i-Park within just one year to allow the company to carry out construction work.
According to Green i-Park General Director Bui The Long, Lien Ha Thai Industrial Park is taking a pioneering role in attracting investment in electronics and environmentally friendly industries in the Thai Binh Economic Zone.
To date, the park has attracted seven projects from Singapore, Taiwan (China) and the Republic of Korea. The most prominent of which is a 120-million-USD project by LOTES, which manufactures electronic components.
Construction of the project is scheduled to begin after the 2023 Lunar New Year and completion is expected within one year.
Thai Binh Economic Zone, which covers a total area of 30,000 hectares in the districts of Thai Thuy and Tien Hai, is expected to become an economic driver of Thai Binh Province in the coming years.
Vietnam and Azerbaijan hold chess exchange
A Friendship Chess Tournament was held in online form on December 22, as part of activities celebrating the 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and the Republic of Azerbaijan.
The tournament was held at the initiative of Azerbaijani Embassy in Vietnam with support from the chess federations of the two countries.
An award ceremony for young Vietnamese chess players who were the winners of the first Friendship Chess Tournament was also held on the same day.
The delegation from the Vietnam-Azerbaijan Friendship Association was led by Dao Xuan Tien, member of the standing committee of the association and Director of the Centre of Azerbaijan Science, Culture and History, and attended the ceremony along with press agencies from Vietnam.
In his speech, Azerbaijani Ambassador Shovgi Mehdizade said the friendship chess tournament is an important event, promoting the active interaction and exchange between the young generations of the two countries.
The young generation is considered an important factor in people-to-people diplomacy. The long-standing friendship between the two countries, which was built and nurtured by Presidents Heydar Aliyev and Ho Chi Minh, will forever endure and be developed further by future generations.
Expressing gratitude to the Azerbaijan’s Embassy in Vietnam for their initiative in organising chess competitions, General Secretary of the Vietnam Chess Federation Nguyen Thi Anh Thu and Grandmaster Bui Vinh expressed their hope that the embassy will continue to support the organisation of events at higher levels and promote the exchange of delegations, thus offering opportunities for Vietnamese players to meet and gain experience from the world, with Azerbaijan having recorded a high position on the world chess map.
Vietnam’s export sector pins hopes on China’s reopening
Vietnam’s exporters of tra fish, textiles and garments and rubber are pinning their hopes on China’s gradual reopening, according to VnDirect.
According to the Vietnam News Agency, China started in early December to roll back many Covid-19 restrictions. Over the past three years, China has maintained strict measures that require people to stay home and businesses to operate mostly remotely.
The second quarter of 2023 would see the Chinese economy being reopened, including facilitating the prevailing Zero-Covid policy to its imports.
As of October 2022, tra fish export revenue had totaled US$2.1 billion, 30% of which is from China, Vietnam’s biggest tra fish buyer. Besides, Vietnam is the third biggest natural rubber exporter to China with a 16% market share.
Vietnam is expected to grow more when China reopens and resumes air services, according to Agribank Securities Corporation (Agriseco).
Accordingly, business performance would be enhanced as transport fares fall, goods circulation resumes and import transit time is reduced.
Bridge connecting Binh Duong and Tay Ninh opened to traffic
A bridge linking Binh Duong and Tay Ninh provinces was opened to traffic this morning, December 26, after two years of construction, according to the government of Binh Duong.
The project, which includes two access roads, starts from Provincial Road No. 744 in Dau Tieng District, Binh Duong, and ends on the Dat Set-Ben Cui Road in Duong Minh Chau District, Tay Ninh.
The project consists of a 377-meter road section in Binh Duong, a 92-meter one in Tay Ninh Province, and a bridge over the Saigon River measuring nearly 30 meters in width and 331 meters in length.
The road and bridge project has six traffic lanes, allowing a maximum speed of 80 kilometers per hour. Work on the project started in October 2022 with a total investment of nearly VND412 billion from the local budget.
It aims to boost connectivity between the two provinces and shorten the distance from Tay Ninh to Long Thanh Airport in Dong Nai and the deepwater port in Ba Ria-Vung Tau, as well as ease traffic congestion on national highways 22 and 22B, according to Duong Van Thang, vice chairman of Tay Ninh.
Therefore, it plays an important role in the socio-economic development of Dau Tieng and Duong Minh Chau districts, as well as helps complete the transport network in the two provinces and creates favorable conditions for tourism development in the region.
Currently, Binh Duong is carrying out a road project connecting the bridge with Provincial Road No.744 with an estimated cost of VND411 billion.
Meanwhile, Tay Ninh has decided to spend over VND500 billion widening the 17-kilometer Dat Set-Ben Cui Road.
HCMC seen cancelling two long-stalled waste treatment projects
HCMC is weighing the revocation of two waste treatment plant projects in the city’s outlying district of Cu Chi with a total investment of over VND13 trillion as they have lagged behind schedule.
HCMC Vice Chairman Bui Xuan Cuong told the municipal Department of Natural Resources and Environment and other relevant agencies to consider revoking the two long-delayed projects at a meeting held in mid-December on solid waste treatment in the city, the local media reported.
Australia’s Trisun Green Energy Corporation and Tasco JSC got approval for investment in the two projects from the municipal government several years ago.
The Australian firm’s waste treatment plant project was set to cover 13 hectares of land at the Phuoc Hiep waste treatment complex and require some US$520 million, or VND12 trillion, in investment. The project, with a capacity of 3,000 tons of waste per day, was licensed in 2017.
Meanwhile, the waste treatment and recycling plant project invested by Tasco at the Tay Bac waste treatment complex, with a total investment of some VND1 trillion, was expected to be completed in 2020, but it failed.
The city discharges some 10,000 tons of garbage a day, with nearly 69% of the total waste going to the landfill, posing a high risk of environmental pollution for nearby residential areas.
HCMC aimed to reduce the percentage of buried waste to 50% and ask waste treatment plants to use the waste-to-energy technology by 2020. However, the city missed the target.
Export-import value to reach US$732 billion in 2022, minister says
Viet Nam's trade with the rest of the world is expected to reach US$732 billion in 2022, an increase 10 percent against 2021, according to Minister of Trade and Industry Nguyen Hong Dien.
Of the above figure, export turnover is estimated at US$371 billion, up 10.5 percent on year compared to the Government's preset target of 8 percent, said the minister.
There were 39 groups of products with export value of over US$10 billion each, of which nine groups of products enjoy an export value of more than US$10 billion, he added.
Export value of manufacturing and processing sector accounts for more than 86 percent of the country's total export turnover.
Last year, total export and import turnover of goods reached US$668.54 billion, up 22.6 percent over 2020, of which exports increased by 19 percent while imports rose by 26.5 percent.
Source: VNA/SGT/VNS/VOV/Dtinews/SGGP/VGP/Hanoitimes
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