Day: August 31, 2021

An official of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has suggested ways for the Vietnamese economy keep moving forwards amid considerable challenges caused by the fourth wave of COVID-19 infections.

In its latest update on Vietnam’s economic performance, the World Bank projected the country’s GDP growth rate at about 4.8 percent in 2021, two percentage points lower than its previous prediction in December 2020.

Replying to the Vietnam News Agency’s questions, Shimizu Akira, Chief Representative of the JICA Vietnam Office, said it is unfortunate that the disruption of supply chains has occured while Vietnam has gained so much attention and been considered one of the most desirable countries for the global diversification of supply chains since the beginning of the pandemic.

There are many Japanese suppliers of Japanese assemblers or manufacturers being affected. Although the impacted production items are limited only to those Japanese suppliers, since some of which are global companies, such structure of supply chain have given a significant impact on the global supply chain, including Vietnam.

To the companies which are included in this supply chain, this issue is highly critical, and they have reportedly had to cut down the production as planned on global basis, Shimizu pointed out.

The pandemic has given insights to the importance of the relavant support which has been carried out, he said, noting that firstly, it is important for Vietnam to strengthen its own enterprises so that they enhance their competitiveness by being able to produce high-quality parts, goods, and so forth by themselves.

For this purpose, JICA is working closely with the Agency for Enterprise Development under the Ministry of Planning and Investment to enhance the capacity of local enterprises to be able to participate in the supply chain.

Secondly, the disruption of corss-border movement shows how important it is for Vietnam to have an enough number of qualified manager/engineers/workers with proper knoweldge and skill without depending on external experts so that they can manage its business without any interruption.

For this purpose, JICA cotinues its assistance in developing industrial human resources through trainings on Japanese business models and strengthening vocational schools, the Chief Representative said, expressing the belief that such efforts will help create a resilient supply chain in the Vietnamese industry.

Shimizu also held that the Vietnamese Government should accelerate the disbursement of public investment, which is viewed as one of important tools to not only serve economic development but also cope with post-pandemic difficulties in the country.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on August 31 launched a forum connecting agricultural production and consumption.

Representatives from 63 cities and provinces, and nearly 200 businesses, associations, cooperatives and production facilities nationwide participated in the online ceremony.

The forum is grounded on the operation of the ministry’s southern working group, aiming to create connectivity and cooperation between management agencies, businesses and farmers.

The working group has stepped up IT application to boost agricultural connectivity and consumption in the context of southern cities and provinces under social distancing in line with Directive No. 16/CT-TTg.

With 1,300 supply sites established by the group, up to 1,000 tonnes of food are sold out each day in Ho Chi Minh City.

According to Nguyen Ngoc Thach, editor-in-chief of Agriculture Newspaper and a member of the steering committee for agricultural market development, the forum’s central task is to provide information about trade promotion and connect the supply and demand for farm produce, farming materials and agriculture-based tourism products.

The form will also focus on digital transformation, training, and proposals to remove difficulties to agricultural production and consumption. It will be held according to sectors and crops in association regions and agriculture and rural area-based tourism.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan said through the forum, farmers, cooperatives and farmers will get insight into market rules and signals.

“Firmly grasping the market would help businesses expand their reach abroad,” he said.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Vietnam exported nearly 919,000 tonnes of rubber, earning 1.54 billion USD in the first seven months of 2021 with the price of 1,677 USD per tonne, up 34.2 percent, 74.5 percent and 30 percent respectively, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

In July alone, rubber exports enjoyed increases of 25.3 percent in volume and 22.8 percent in turnover, but experienced a decrease of 2 percent in price compared to the previous month. Compared to those in July 2020, the export of Vietnamese rubber saw growth in all three aspects, with 1 percent, 38 percent ad 35.7 percent, respectively.

China is Vietnam’s biggest rubber importer, with over 643,000 tonnes worth 1.04 billion USD, equivalent to 70 percent of the total volume and 67.4 percent of the total turnover. The figures represented year-on-year rises of 26.4 percent in volume and 62.7 percent in value.

It is followed by the EU with nearly 50,000 tonnes and 89.8 million USD, and India with over 47,000 tonnes and 85.5 million USD.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Vietnam’s exports of non-alcoholic drinks to Australia rose 59 percent in the first half of 2021, with the products (excluding canned coffee) reeling in over 9.5 million USD in revenue.

The outcome was attributed to efforts made by the Vietnamese Trade Office in Australia and Vietnamese enterprises.

Particularly, Fujiwa alkaline ion drink produced by Fujiwa Vietnam have secured a foothold in the Australian market, with the first four imported containers of 160,000 bottles sold out in a short time.

As the Vietnamese Trade Office has identified consuming health-related goods as an emerging trend in Australia, it is working with Australian importers and big distribution chains like Coles and Costco to introduce the ion drink product in hope of pushing its import volume to over 100 containers a year.

The bottled coconut water segment in Australia, dominated by low-priced Thai products, has recently seen Vietnamese products available in many large retail chains. 100 percent-pure coconut water brand Cocoxim produced by Ben Tre Import and Export Joint Stock Corporation (Betrimex) has recorded good sales and strong impression so far.

As a result, the office is coordinating with Philinh Pty company as an exclusive distributor in New South Wales, to promote the 100 percent-pure coconut water to enhance the value of the brand.

Canned coffee products from Vietnamese brands King Coffee and Meet More are also warmly welcomed by Australian consumers.

Meanwhile, the export value of Vietnamese mixed fruit and vegetable drinks grew by more than 50 percent to reach 564,000 USD.

In particular, non-fermented fruit juice products saw a growth of 57 percent to rake in 7.9 million USD. Pineapple water exports grew by 203 percent for a turnover of 100,000 USD.

Source: Vietnam News Agency