Day: December 29, 2021

Vietnam’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2021 is estimated to expand by 2.58 percent from the previous year as the COVID-19 pandemic has imposed adverse impacts on all fields of the national economy, General Director of the General Statistics Office (GSO) Nguyen Thi Huong has said.

Speaking at a press conference announcing socio-economic figures in the fourth quarter and the whole year on December 29, Huong said that GDP in the fourth quarter is estimated to increase by 5.22 percent over the same period last year, adding that the figure was higher than the growth rate of 4.61 percent of the fourth quarter of 2020 but lower than the average growth rates of the fourth quarters in the 2011-2019 period.

The agro-forestry-fishery sector grew by 3.16 percent; the industry and construction rose by 5.61 percent; and the service sector expanded by 5.42 percent in the fourth quarter.

In the whole year, the agro-forestry-fishery sector increased by 2.9 percent, contributing 13.97 percent to the growth rate of the total added value of the whole economy; the industry and construction sector up by 4.05 percent, contributing 63.80 percent; and the service sector rose by 1.22 percent, contributing 22.23 percent.

In the year, final consumption rose by 2.09 percent against 2020; while accumulated assets increased by 3.96 percent; exports of goods and services hiked by 14.01 percent; and imports were up by 16.16 percent.

Labour productivity of the whole economy at the current price in 2021 is estimated at 171.3 million VND (7,398 USD) per worker, 538 USD higher than that of 2020. The labour productivity in 2021 increased by 4.71 percent due to improved qualifications of workers with the proportion of trained workers with degrees and certificates in 2021 reaching 26.1 percent, higher than the 25.3 percent of 2020.

According to the official, along with policies to ensure social security, the consensus of administrations at all levels, sectors and localities, and the consensus, support, sharing and active participation of people from all walks of life and the business community, Vietnam has achieved encouraging socio-economic development results.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Despite two official scenarios predicting wood and wooden products exports to rake in less than 14.5 billion USD this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the country’s export revenue is now estimated at 14.72 billion USD.

The sector began recovering its production in October and saw its overseas shipments reeling in 1.27 billion USD in November alone, up 2.5 percent on-year, according to data from the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Agency of Foreign Trade.

Notably, statistics of the General Department of Vietnam Customs showed that between January and November, Vietnam exported 7.93 billion USD worth of wood and wooden products to the US, an annual growth of 24.6 percent. The sector’s shipments to China and Japan during the period earned 1.36 billion USD and 1.28 USD, increasing 26.6 percent and 11.2 percent against 2020, respectively.

The strong recovery was thanks to prompt support and directions from the Government and competent agencies, particularly the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, as well as efforts made by firms operating in the sector and increasing demand from the international market.

Vietnam is currently the world’s second biggest exporter of timber and wooden products. The wood sector groups more than 560 businesses, generating nearly 1 million jobs.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The consumer price index (CPI) of Hanoi grew by 1.77 percent year on year in 2021, a low level compared to the figures recorded in recent years, according to the municipal Statistics Office.

In December alone, the index dropped by 0.21 percent monthly but increased by 2.55 percent from a year yearlier.

Compared to the previous month, a downturn was seen in four groups of goods, including transport (1.69 percent); housing, electricity, water and building materials (0.75 percent); education (0.44 percent) and post and telecommunications (0.01 percent).

By contrast, the prices of the remaining seven groups rose. The highest growth was seen in food and restaurant services (up 0.37 percent) as well as beverage and cigarette (0.19 percent), as consumption demand was higher for the year-end period and upcoming Lunar New Year holiday.

The prices of culture-entertainment-tourism group were 0.16 percent higher the previous month as a result of the city’s reopening of many tourism destinations.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Export-import turnover hit 668.5 billion USD in 2021, up 123 billion USD compared to the previous year and posting the highest growth ever.

The information was revealed by the General Department of Vietnam Customs during a recent conference to review the sector’s performance this year and deploy tasks in 2022.

State budget collection from imports and exports posted a year-on-year expansion of 19.2 percent, heard the event.

Although various localities applied social distancing measures to curb the spread of COVID-19, export-import turnover of goods handled by customs offices of 19 southern provinces and cities expanded 16 percent against the previous year.

Ho Chi Minh City’s customs office in particular handled more than 117 billion USD worth of goods, and Binh Duong office tackled over 47 billion USD.

Tax collection from exports-imports enjoyed a 19.2 percent growth to top 370 trillion VND (16.21 billion USD). The increase was driven by the surge in tax collection of some commodities like petrol, crude oil and iron ore.

Of note, the number of imported automobile grew 1.6-fold against that of the previous year, bringing in over 14 trillion VND in tax.

In the coming year, the customs sector sets a target of collecting 352 trillion VND in tax, said Deputy Minister of Finance Vu Thi Mai.

Source: Vietnam News Agency