Economist Le Xuan Nghia.

What are your personal opinions on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Vietnamese economy?

We all know that the COVID-19 has spread rapidly worldwide and has slowed world economic development. Many countries have projected gross domestic product worldwide in 2020 will be reduced by at last 1 per cent compared to 2019. Our study has also come up with a projection that the Vietnamese GDP will be reduced by 1 per cent as Vietnam will be economically hit hard by the pandemic.

In our study, we listed three main causes of impeding world economic development in 2020.

First, the COVID-19 pandemic in China, where 15 per cent of Vietnam’s exported products go while some 30 per cent of the country’s imported products come from China. Most Chinese imported products are raw materials and machinery equipment or spare parts. This has become a severe problem for the Vietnamese processing and manufacturing industry.

Many textile and leather shoes companies have lamented that they can't continue their production as they don’t have raw materials which mainly come from China. This has led to quite a few Vietnamese companies going bankrupt or closing their factories.

Secondly, the service sector is also grievously hit by the pandemic, particularly the tourism sector. According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, the Vietnamese tourism sector lost between US$5.7-7.7 billion in the first quarter of 2020.

The third Vietnamese sector that has been hard hit is the agriculture sector due to disease and natural disasters. Severe drought and salt intrusion, coupled with the narrowing down of the exported market, have left very serious impacts on agriculture – one of the country's primary industries. In 2019, Vietnam recorded some $42 billion in agro-forestry and fishery exports. In 2020, it is projected that the export revenue will drop to $37-38 billion.

However, through this hard time, Vietnam knows its strengths.

At a recent meeting of the National Financial and Monetary Policy Advisory Council chaired by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, we all agreed that good control of the disease is the most important element in the national economic growth and it is an essential condition to help the economy to develop.

Addressing a recent meeting of the National Financial and Monetary policies, the PM said: “Disease control is a very important element to help the national economy to develop”. Why? It will help cut the losses caused by the pandemic while still keeping the Vietnamese prestige high in the international arena. Foreign tourists will then return and Vietnamese products will be able to secure a foothold in international markets.

That’s why good control of the COVID-19 is a top important task for Vietnam now. Along with that Vietnam should adopt measures to develop its economy immediately when the pandemic is finished.

We hope when the COVID-19 comes to an end and our traditional tourists from China, South Korea and others will return to Vietnam. So it is now time for us to think about how to attract more foreign tourists. This is food for thought for all Vietnamese economic sectors, be they tourism, agriculture or others.

What should Vietnam do when the pandemic ends?

Many experts have lamented that investment in the agriculture sector faces many risks. However, 2019 was a successful year for the Vietnamese agriculture sector. It earned $41.3 billion in export turnover while receiving some 30 per cent of the needed investment into the sector. A new investment wave has come to agriculture. In the long run, agriculture will remain one of the most important pillars in the country’s development strategy.

Each Vietnamese locality has its own food speciality. They may use the same ingredients, yet their cooking styles are quite different. And in his opinion, the novel nature of Vietnamese food is in its cooking. Most of the cooking ingredients come from agricultural products and from farmers themselves. Vietnam’s strength comes from the combination of agriculture, tourism and national culture.

No country in the world has such a rich diversity of food as Vietnam. Now it is time for Vietnam to make its delicious food known to people in other countries.

We have conducted a lot of research on the Vietnamese catering and based on our research Vietnam’s strength is not its industry, but its agriculture, tourism and culture.

These three components are intertwined with each other, particularly in the Vietnamese countryside.

How should Vietnam restructure its agricultural practice?

If Vietnam considers agriculture as one of the important pillars in the national economy, we should make some adjustments in our national economic structure. And if Vietnamese agricultural production applies good agriculture practice and products are well preserved to meet the requirements of global market I’m confident that agriculture will surely become a main pillar in the national economy. This is food for thought for Vietnamese authorities. In my opinion, the weakest point of our products is that they cannot be preserved after harvest. It is time for Vietnam to apply new technology to overcome this. 

The Government has already adopted a national programme on the restructuring of the agriculture industry. Yet, until now the programme’s successes are still limited. In my opinion, we need more specific guidelines and programmes on how to restructure the Vietnamese primary industry – agriculture.

In the course of restructuring the national economy, the Government should select some important programmes in the most important sectors: agriculture and finance as they are the key driving force in the national economy. Adding to these two sectors, I think that the Government should pay more attention to the banking, education and training sectors.

Last but not least, the Government should adopt special financial support to the farmers.  VNS

Agriculture driving economic growth

Despite numerous risks, Vietnam’s agro-forestry-fishery sector is expected to reap bigger fruits in 2019 with more investments implemented, making it one of the key drivers of economic growth. Thanh Dat reports.

Vietnamese agricultural products aim to join global value chain

Deputy Minister of Agriculture Ha Cong Tuan talks to Năng Lượng Mới (New Energy) newspaper about the strengths and weaknesses of Vietnamese agricultural products.