Dragon fruit exports to China surge through Lao Cai

Thanks to the Noi Bai - Lao Cai Expressway the journey to Kim Thanh Border Gate, in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai, has become more convenient than ever before, with traveling time cut by half, thus facilitating exports of Vietnamese vegetables and fruits to China, including dragon fruit.

According to the Lao Cai Customs Department, for the first time dragon fruit exports to south-western China, via the province’s border lines, reached tens of thousands of tonnes, with a value of more than US$20 million.

Since the end of April, the department has prepared customs clearance procedures for more than 4,000 tonnes of the fruit through Kim Thanh Border Gate, with support from an e-customs service, to ensure a convenient and safe declaration and shorten clearance time.

The volume of fruit mainly originated from the central and southern provinces. This is the first time Lao Cai recorded a large quantity of exported dragon fruit through Lao Cai border gate.

The Chinese side has agreed to allow Vietnamese dragon fruit containers to run across the Kim Thanh Bridge to China without tranship. It is a convenient and important way to ensure the quality of dragon fruits (not being bruised during transport).

Previously, dragon fruit was usually exported to China through border gates in Ha Giang and Lang Son provinces.

Currently, there are about 400-600 tonnes of dragon fruit exported through the Kim Thanh Border Gate. Customs staff and other specialised forces at the gate has strengthened efforts and prioritised making clearance early in the morning to ensure the timely delivery and quality of dragon fruit exports.

Statistics from the General Department of Customs show that China continues to be Vietnam's largest trading partner in the first five months of 2017, with two-way trade reaching US$ 32.8 billion, up 23.6% over the same period last year.

In particular, some products have recorded increasing imports from Vietnam such as vegetables, fruits and seafood. In terms of fruit and vegetable exports, as of the end of May, China remained the leading market for fruit and vegetable consumption in Vietnam, with US$1.06 billion, up 51% and accounting for 75% of the total value of export vegetables and fruits.

In a joint statement made during a recent visit by President Tran Dai Quang to China, the two sides agreed to speed up the completion of market opening legal procedures for a number of fruits from Vietnam to China. These legal procedures are expected to give a further boost to Vietnamese fruits and vegetables exports to the Chinese market.

Hoa Binh Hydropower Plant recognised as project of national security

The Hoa Binh Hydropower Plant, located in the northern province of Hoa Binh, was recognised as an important project with relation to national security, according to the Government Decision signed on January 20, 2017.

A ceremony to announce the decision was held in Hoa Binh on June 14, by the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN), in co-ordination with the Ministry of Public Security and Hoa Binh province.

The Hoa Binh plant is the second largest hydropower plant in Vietnam, after the Son La Hydropower Plant, with an annual electricity output of over 10 billion kW/h.

In accordance with the decision, the protection of the plant is determined as an important task of the public security force and related ministries and sectors.

Meanwhile, Hoa Binh province is assigned the task of developing a master plan to ensure security of the project and to co-ordinate with the EVN to define the protection corridor of the reservoir area and the entire plant.

In addition, the province should ensure social welfare for local households who have had to relocate to resettlement areas, in order to serve the construction of this important project.

Director of Hoa Binh Hydropower Company, Nguyen Van Minh, said that the Hoa Binh plant has taken on several important tasks, including ensuring flood and drought prevention for the downstream area, providing electricity to the national grid and improving waterway transport, as well as ensuring local socio-economic development.

Particularly, the plant will be expanded in the future, with the installation of two more turbines that will raise the total capacity from 1,920 MW to 2,400 MW by 2022, equivalent to the capacity of Son La Hydropower Plant, contributing to ensuring national energy security, Minh noted.

Thus, the Hoa Binh Hydropower Plant was listed as one among seven projects of significant importance to national security, pursuant to the Government decision, Minh added.

HCMC tax agency inspects over 7,200 businesses

The HCMC Taxation Department reported that its divisions had inspected 7,230 businesses in the first five months this year and imposed penalty on tax dodgers and tax liability companies. 

The inspection helped collect nearing VND1,754 billion ($77.29 million), a year on year increase of 37.19 percent.

Businesses’ loss amount decreased VND5,041 billion and value added tax deduction reduced VND175.5 billion.

In the upcoming time, the agency will focus on inspecting large-scale groups with high revenue; businesses in fields of multi-level marketing, petrol and medicine; companies receiving tax refund; loss making firms with signs of transfer pricing; those who have not been inspected for many years and enjoying tax incentives.

Banks’ registered loan for hi-tech agriculture reaches $5.29 billion

Eight banks have attended a credit package of VND100 trillion in the hi-tech agriculture field with the total registered capital of VND120 trillion (US$5.29 billion).

According to Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong, VND30 trillion of the funds has been disbursed with loan interest rate being 0.5-1.5 lower than normal.

The package was launched in March by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) and the ministry, initially providing funds for businesses granted with hi-tech agriculture investment certificates.

Afterwards, SBV has made Decision 813 to bolster hi-tech and clean farming.

At present, the Ministry of Planning and Investment is building a draft decree encouraging businesses to invest in agricultural and rural field over large scales, attend in value chains and develop areas specialized farming zones applying modern technologies with the financial assistance of VND200 million to VND10 billion a project.

Vietnam consumes $2 billion cosmetics a year

The Vietnamese market consumes about US$2 billion of cosmetics per year, reported deputy chairman of Vietnam Association of Oil, Aromas and Cosmetics Nguyen Van Minh.

Consumption of cosmetics products strongly increases amongst the middle income consumers, forecast to reach 33 million customers by 2020.

In related news, nearly 200 businesses from Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and India will attend Mekong Beauty Show 2017 at Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center, District 7, HCMC from June 15-17.

At the event, they will seek importers and trading opportunities in the potential cosmetic market of Vietnam.

SOE divestment seen bringing US$15-20 billion

Divestment from State-owned enterprises (SOEs) will bring US$15-20 billion in the 2016-2020 period if the Government is firm on its SOE equitization plan, said Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung said in a report.

Among 240 SOEs to be restructured between 2016 and 2020, the State will retain full ownership of only 103, maintain ownership of more than 50% at 31 and selling all stakes at the remaining 106. Proceeds from the sale of SOEs will be used to finance development investment, not regular spending.

According to the report sent to National Assembly deputies who are meeting in Hanoi at the moment, the nation’s total investments are expected to make up 32-34% of gross domestic product (GDP), or VND9,000-10,000 trillion. State investments, including those by SOEs, will fall sharply.

State investments in 2016-2020 would decline to 31-34% from 39.1% in 2011-2015 while non-State sector investments, especially private enterprises, are estimated to surge from 38.3% to 48%.

To meet funding demand for development investment, the Government will continue speeding up economic restructuring as envisaged in the economic restructuring plan from 2016 to 2020, Dung said.

The minister mentioned the issues that led to wastefulness in public investment projects. For instance, some projects were approved but their investment principle was not suitable with development goals of sectors or localities, resulting in low efficiency and inaction.

Besides, some investors failed to make good financial calculations and ensure feasibility. Therefore, they did not finish projects on schedule, and struggled with enormous cost overruns.

Domestic businesses cause steep trade deficit in Jan-May

Foreign-invested enterprises continued generating a trade surplus in January-May but their domestic peers caused a trade deficit of a whopping US$9.31 billion, resulting in the country’s trade deficit amounting to US$2.5 billion.

Data of the General Department of Vietnam Customs showed that the nation’s total export and import turnover in May was US$36.4 billion, a 4.3% rise against the previous month. This took total import-export turnover in the first five months of 2017 to nearly US$162.5 billion, up 21.5% against the year-earlier period.

The foreign direct investment (FDI) sector posted total import-export turnover of US$106.5 billion in the first five months, increasing by 23.7% or US$20.4 billion compared to the same period last year. In particular, the sector exported US$56.66 billion worth of goods in January-May, a 20% increase against the same period last year, and imported over US$49.84 billion worth of goods, a 28.1% year-on-year increase. Therefore, its trade surplus was upwards of US$6.8 billion in the first five months of 2017.

However, the domestic sector posted a trade deficit of US$2.13 billion in May, bringing its January-May trade deficit to US$9.31 billion.

According to the General Department of Vietnam Customs, China remained the country’s biggest trading partner with import-export turnover in the five-month period totaling US$32.76 billion, up 23.6% over the same period last year. Meanwhile, South Korea emerged as the second biggest trading partner of the country with bilateral trade soaring 45.2% year-on-year to nearly US$24 billion.

The U.S. fell one notch, becoming Vietnam’s third largest trading partner with total turnover of US$19.96 billion, up 12.9%. The EU came in fourth with bilateral trade reaching US$19.66 billion, a year-on-year increase of 13.3%.

In January-May, Vietnam had trade surpluses with only three countries among the top 10 trading partners. The U.S. remained the key market for Vietnamese exporters, with a trade surplus of US$12.07 billion in favor of Vietnam, followed by the EU with US$10.03 billion and Japan with US$152 million.

In the first five months, Vietnam had the largest trade deficit with South Korea, with US$12.96 billion. China followed with US$11.5 billion, slipping from its No.1 spot in previous years, and Taiwan with US$3.9 billion.

The period saw 17 of 54 commodities having import turnover of more than US$1 billion each.

Imports of ten key commodities totaled nearly US$54 billion, accounting for 65.5% of the country’s total imports in the year to end-May.

Specifically, imports of cashew nuts increased by a sharp 125.3% over the same period last year, crude oil 120.3%, rubber 90.1%, vegetables 79.1%, metal junk 79.1%, coal 58.3% and cotton 49.9%.

Fujitsu picks Digiworld as strategic partner

Fujitsu Vietnam announced on June 14 that Digiworld Joint Stock Company had become a strategic partner responsible for distributing Fujitsu products in Vietnam.

This marks Fujitsu’s comeback to the Vietnamese market, focusing on information technology solutions and devices.

Digiworld is responsible for distributing Fujitsu laptops. On this occasion, Fujitsu Vietnam and Digiworld launched new laptops of Lifebook U-series.

Fujitsu has brought a new look to their laptops, which are designed for a wide range of customers.

Nguyen Quang Tuyen of Fujitsu Vietnam said the company’s products feature advanced security and storage technology. Fujitsu is now the information technology solutions and devices provider of many enterprises, Government agencies and banks in Vietnam.

Fujitsu’s high-grade laptops such as Lifebook U937 and 747 come with a highly reliable biometric authentication system based on palm vein pattern recognition technology. Fujitsu also offers medium-grade products that are affordable for most Vietnamese.

In 2017, Fujitsu focuses on devices such as laptop, scanner, printer and storage devices, as well as application software for healthcare, education and business management, security technologies and smart solutions for transport, healthcare and environmental protection.

Coffee, pepper exports to India plunge

Vietnam’s coffee and pepper exports to India dipped in the first five months of the year although the two sides had lifted their bans on imports of agricultural products from each other, said the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

January-May saw Vietnam’s merchandise exports to India reaching nearly US$1.4 billion, up nearly 41% year-on-year. Among 28 items exported to India in the period, coffee and pepper were the only two which fell in export value.

Pepper edged down 38% to US$31 million and coffee decreased 16% to US$27.2 million over the same period last year.

Pepper and coffee were among the agricultural products of Vietnam of which India suspended imports in retaliation for a decision of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam to stop importing groundnuts, cocoa beans and haricot beans from India over concerns about the beetle Caryedon serratus Olivier, a major insect pest.

However, the two nations agreed in March to remove the import bans on agricultural products from each other, citing negative effects on business activities of enterprises of both sides.

India agreed to lift the suspension on six agricultural products of Vietnam including coffee and pepper. In return, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development revised Decision 558/QD-BNN-BVTV in a way that products from India are closely monitored for pests, instead of being suspended from import.

Cashew nut imports from Vietnam which were not banned India grew 23% in January-May.

In 2016, bilateral trade between the two countries was balanced. According to the customs, Vietnam spent US$2.7 billion importing Indian goods and earned the same amount from exports to the Indian market. Vietnamese items of high value exported to India included phones, electronic parts and farm produce.

Seafood processors guzzle energy

Seafood processing enterprises are energy guzzlers, said Nguyen Thanh Tung, head of the Technical and Application Division of the Can Tho Energy Conservation Center.

To process a kilo of tra fish or shrimp, for example, they need over 1.5 kWh or even 3 kWh of electricity although they have options to use 20% less energy.

At a seminar “Technological and financial solutions for shrimp farming and processing” in Can Tho City on Tuesday, Tung cited data of 20 tra fish and six shrimp processors in the city as saying that 1.55 kWh of electric power is needed to process a kilo of tra fish while shrimp processing requires 1.53 kWh.

Thanks to new technologies and production processes, some enterprises consume less than one kWh for tra fish and shrimp processing. But others may guzzle up to 3 kWh, Tung added.

A statement of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) under the World Bank said only 40% of 21 seafood processing plants in the Mekong Delta have taken energy-saving measures.

According to the Energy Conservation Center HCMC (ECC HCMC), seafood processors should apply energy-saving technology at stages that need a lot of energy.

ECC HCMC said T8 bulbs can be replaced with 18W LED bulbs to save 60-65% of energy and compact bulbs replaced with LED downlight bulbs to save 50-55% of energy.

Heavy-duty refrigeration systems, instead of low-duty ones, can help save 10-30% of energy. Air-conditioners of low efficiency should be replaced with inverter machines to save 30-40% of energy.

Energy saving will help reduce selling prices to increase the competitiveness of local seafood products.

Midterm Vietnam Business Forum opens in Hanoi

The midterm Vietnam Business Forum (VBF) 2017 opens in Hanoi on June 16 in the presence of Government and ministries officials, and representatives from international organizations, trade associations and businesses.

The forum serves as a bridge connecting foreign direct investment (FDI) and local enterprises, contributing to sustainable development and improving the quality of the national economy.

Participants discussed solutions to help small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) connect with FDI enterprises and join regional and international production networks towards eliminating national bounderies in production.

Vu Tien Loc, Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and chairman of VBF, said the forum focuses on enhancing the link between foreign and domestic sectors in the new context of the world economy, especially SMEs towards ensuring equal development of the two sectors and avoiding the situation of one country, two economies.

It is also a high-level public-private policy dialogue between the government, domestic and foreign business communities, and donors and diplomatic agencies, aiming to improve the business environment in Vietnam, attract investment from the private sector to response impact of global policies like TPP, EVFTA, RCEP and Industry 4.0.

The organizing board said so far this year VBF has received nearly 1,000 suggestions from businesses and associations sent to the Government and administrative agencies.

The forum includes four sessions, focusing on employment, development of the support industry, investment into infrastructure, the fourth industrial revolution, or industry 4.0, free trade agreements, elimination of non-tariff barriers, attracting investment from the private sector and improvement of the effectiveness of law enforcement.

Grim future awaits Vietnamese railway sector

Contrary to the robust growth of the road and air travel sectors, Vietnam’s railway industry has been gradually losing market share, easing into a reputation as a less attractive option for individual passengers, and logistics and transportation companies alike.

The situation only seems bleaker after a plan calling for private investment to revitalize the railway sector went largely ignored.

In 2013, rail travel accounted for 3.61% of the country’s passenger transport market share, and 1.82% of the cargo market.

Since then, that number has been in continual decline, slipping to only 1.98 percent of the passenger market, and 1.33% for cargo in 2016.

Le Van Phuoc, director of a handicraft maker in Ho Chi Minh City, said there is in fact a real demand for transporting goods by train thanks to stable costs and low risk of damage during delivery.

Doan Minh Tai, deputy director of a fertilizer company, said one of the biggest problems of road transportation is the chronic traffic jam at the entrances of major cities.

“Regular traffic congestion results in late delivery, something we don’t worry about if we transport by train,” Tai said.

But Phuoc and Tai, as well as many other local businesses, do not turn to the railway sector for logistics services.

The train sector has missed the opportunity to grab demand for safe, affordable cargo transportation from local businesses, and they can blame no one but themselves, according to critics.

“While road transportation companies are active in seeking customers and offering incentives to attract orders, the railway sector still thinks that they do not have to ‘serve’ anyone,” one businessman explained.

Nguyen Manh Sinh, a business owner in Ho Chi Minh City, said the railway sector is only responsible for bringing goods from A to B, and does not care what will happen next.

“Businesses have to hire a third-party service to continue carrying the goods to their final destination once the cargo is unloaded [at the train station],” Sinh said.

Other industry insiders said another disadvantage of the railway system in Vietnam is that it does not connect with the country’s seaports.  

“Businesses will have to pay for intermediary services to bring their goods from the seaport to the train station,” Do Dinh Duoc, deputy general director of the Saigon Railways, admitted.

Vietnam’s railway system, most notably the north-to-south route connecting Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, is overseen by state-run Vietnam Railways.

In 2014, the Ministry of Transport approved a master plan to solicit investment from the private sector to help develop the railway sector, hoping to attract non-state capital to upgrade rail tracks, renew stations and improve service quality.

One of the core aspects of the plan involved seeking private operators for 13 train routes.

If proved effective, the plan will be expanded in a way that the entire railway system would be transferred from the state to the private sector.

However, even the initial goal has not been met.

“Few private investors have shown interest in the railway sector,” Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Ngoc Dong admitted.

Some major corporations, both local and international, have signaled plans to invest in the Hanoi or Saigon train terminals, but eventually decided to back off, according to the deputy minister.

Dong added that the ministry is seeking investors for a project to build a railway route connected with Hai Phong Port, an international gateway in northern Vietnam, but the call has so far gone unanswered.

“The initial investment needed for the project is US$1.55 billion in phase one alone,” Dong explained.

Huge investment cost is the main reason why the call for the private sector to join in developing Vietnamese railways is not responded, the deputy minister said.

“We cannot apply the BOT [build-operate-transfer] scheme as the cost to develop a railway route is considerably larger than a roadway,” he said.

NEPCON Vietnam 2017 set to open in Hanoi in Sept

Vietnam Exhibition on SMT & Testing Technologies, Equipment and Support Industries for Electronics Manufacturing (NEPCON Vietnam) will be held at Hanoi International Center of Exhibition at 91 Tran Hung Dao St on September 13-15, said a press conference on June 15.

The event, which is expected to attract 200 exhibitors from 20 countries in the world aims to accelerate the development of the support industry in Vietnam, complete the production line of the electronics industry and connect trade opportunities between Vietnam and Japan.

A representative from the Japan External Trade Organization, Mr. Hironobu Kitagawa said the exhibition serves as a unique platform for Japanese technology providers to meet local manufacturers to jointly drive the growth of the electronics industry in Vietnam and attract global electronics investment.

Two other exhibitions, Industrial Components & Subcontracting Vietnam 2017 and Vietnam-Japan Supporting Industries Exhibition, will also take place coinciding with NEPCON Vietnam.

Addressing the press conference, Head of the Trade Promotion Agency Bui Huy Son said the important event aims to support Vietnamese businesses in enhancing production capacity and connecting Japanese partners. It is part of activities to realize Japan’s commitment to help Vietnam’s support industry within the framework of the bilateral Economic Partnership Agreement.

At our event, you will meet thousands of future customers and business partners in the country’s only electronics manufacturing exhibition. It will offer an ideal marketplace to present a comprehensive range of technologies for SMT line manufacturing, from feeder to testing, from leading brands to over 10,000 visitors, Son said.

Therefore, this will be a good opportunity for you to present innovative technologies to electronics manufacturers, meet with potential buyers, and network with local manufacturers for the opportunities of future order, he added.

LOTTE sets up training centre for retail industry

The LOTTE-KOICA-IUH Service Training Centre for retail industry training was launched in HCM City at the Industrial University of HCM City on Wednesday.

Set up by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Korea International Co-operation Agency (KOICA), Lotte Group, Korean Re-shaping Development Institute (ReDI), the centre will offer short- and medium –term training courses to meet an increasing human resource demand in the retail industry in the city and surrounding areas.

The centre is one of the components of a KOICA-LOTTE project to develop Vi?t Nam’s retail industry.

The trainees will be taught foreign languages, sales service, warehouse management, hygiene and food safety management, and others.

After completing the training, they will have the opportunity to work at LOTTE Group companies.

The project is expected to train 1,200-1,500 people a year.

In another development, on June 15 LOTTE Group opened an R&D centre in Bình Duong Province to ensure the quality of LOTTE Group’s products in Vi?t Nam. 

Ben Tre: New cooperatives to form agricultural value chains

From now to 2020, the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre plans to set up 27 agricultural cooperatives which will partner with businesses to form value chains for eight key agricultural products.

The targeted agricultural products are coconut, green-skin grapefruit, rambutan, longan, ornamental flowers, pig, cattle, and saltwater shrimp.

Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Huu Lap said to improve the effectiveness of cooperatives’ activities, Ben Tre will develop cooperatives in line with the 2012 Law on Cooperatives.

It is going to help them apply scientific and technological advances in production and business activities so as to increase productivity and product quality. They will also be assisted to promote trade and seek markets.

Lap said since the Cooperative Law was enforced three years ago, a number of cooperatives operating in various spheres have been established in the province. Linkages among cooperatives and between cooperatives and other economic organisations have started to develop.

The capacity of cooperatives’ managers has also been enhanced, thus raising their operation efficiency.

Chairman of the Ben Tre Cooperative Alliance Phan Chanh Thi said 65 cooperatives and one cooperative union have been licensed in the province, gathering 30,139 members. 

The cooperatives provided jobs for more than 1,260 people whose annual per capita income is about 42 million VND (1,850 USD). Each of them gained 2.5 billion VND (110,170 USD) in average revenue.

However, he also admitted certain shortcomings in local cooperatives such as irregular popularisation of knowledge about cooperative economy and cooperatives, limited capacity, and a shortage of skilled managers.

Samsung Viet Nam to prioritise pork use

Samsung Vi?t Nam on Thursday officially launched the food campaign prioritising the use of pork in meal for all its 142,000 workers.

The campaign is aimed at responding to the call of the Vietnamese Government to support farmers in overcoming difficulties due to the fluctuation of pork prices since May. It contains a series of practical activities such as increasing the pork consumption in daily meal by 60 per cent for workers, providing nearly VNÐ800 million to purchase pigs in northern B?c Ninh, Thái Nguyên and B?c Giang, organising the ’Pork Day’ and recommending to employees to use pork in their meal.

Accordingly, since May, all Samsung factories have prioritised dishes processed from pork for three meals per day. Within a month of its implementation, the amount of pork consumption in the five factories has increased by nearly 60 per cent, from 6.2 tonnes to 10.4 tonnes a day.

In addition, the Pork Day programme has strengthened the effectiveness of the campaign. Accordingly, Samsung Vi?t Nam will spend one day per week to put pork on the entire menus of its factories.

Samsung Vi?t Nam has officially deployed groups to purchase directly from pork supplying units that meet general standards, including B?o Nguyên Company, Sông C?u Company, Ðông Bình Agriculture Service Co-operative and Thanh Th?o Pig Farm. Samsung Vi?t Nam has offered these units leftovers of Samsung Electronic Vietnam EV and Samsung Vietnam Thái Nguyên employees for farming. All the pigs bought will be gifted to 55 agencies and schools within the three provinces, including Social Protection Centre, Nursing Centre for People with Merits and Boarding Ethnics School.

Samsung Vi?t Nam will proactively carry out the communication campaign for all employees to raise awareness on collaborating and supporting Vi?t Nam’s breeding and farming sector.

In the upcoming period, Samsung Vi?t Nam will continue to work with the food supplier to create more menus using pork daily for the employees. It is expected that this action will contribute practically to help Vi?t Nam’s breeding households surpass the difficult period.

Shim Wonhwan, Samsung Vi?t Nam’s president, said “As a member of the Vietnamese society, Samsung Vi?t Nam has been conducting massive pork consumption campaign to ease the difficulties Vietnamese farmers are facing. Many of our employees, including South Korean expatriates and I, are actively participating in the campaign as family of farmers, and I think it makes it more meaningful to be able to donate the pigs that have grown up on the leftovers of our canteen.”

China buys over 9,500 tons of lychees

China remains a traditional and important market for Vietnamese lychees, according to the Bac Giang provincial Department of Industry and Trade.

The province has, so far this year, sold more than 22,000 tons of lychees at average prices of US$.65-US$1.95 (VND15,000-45,000 a kilo). Of which, Yen The district sold 12,000 tons, Luc Nam over 2,000 tons , Luc Ngan over 5,500 tons,  and Yen The over 800 tons .

Bac Giang lychees were consumed both in the domestic and foreign markets. More than 9,500 tons were shipped via Lang Son and Lao Cai border gates to China.

This year, China remains an important market of Bac Giang lychees. The province is expected to export around 50,000 tons, including 40,000 tons to China.

It’s noteworthy that this is the first time Vietnamese lychees have been exported to three new markets – Middle East, Canada and Thailand.

The first shipment of Luc Ngan lychees is expected to arrive in Thailand on June 20, opening a huge opportunity for the fruit to enter the potential market, especially after import duties are removed.

The provincial lychee output is estimated to reach 100,000 tons this year, which equals to 70% of that last year. Forty thousand tons of which met VietGap and the remaining 1,600 tons met GlobalGap standards.     

Surprising reasons Vietnam can’t develop ability to compete globally

The competitiveness of the Vietnam private sector is at a crossroads, said speakers at a recent conference sponsored by the Ministry of Industry and Trade in the capital city of Hanoi.

Private sector businesses are slowly coming to the full realization that they cannot develop the ability to compete in the international marketplace, a fact that has far reaching implications.

The signs of the problem had been visible for some time. Almost all the economic growth the country has experienced over recent years has been created by the foreign sector, principally by companies such as Samsung and LG Electronics.

The same is true for job creation.  While it is accurate that some of the new jobs have been created in government, healthcare and retailing, these are areas of the economy that are not exposed to international competition.

If one looks at the jobs created by the domestic private sector in manufacturing, which is exposed to competition from foreigners, the results can be described as lacklustre at best, a sure sign Vietnamese businesses are not developing an ability to compete.

Vu Thi Kim Hanh, chair of the Business Association of High Quality Vietnamese Products told the audience at the conference that she believes there is a generic problem with the strategies being pursued by domestic private sector businesses.

Business leaders, she said, generally try to place the blame for their failures on the government, foreign tariffs, other non-tariff barriers, the legal system, K–12 education, and fiscal or monetary policy.

In other words, the inability to compete isn’t the business leaders’ fault— it’s always the fault of someone else and not them. When in fact management is all about the art and science of getting things done and overcoming constraints, whatever they happen to be.

In other words, Ms Hanh is saying that we often hear Vietnamese agricultural businesses complain about problems they encounter with shipments of product being rejected by the US Food and Drug Administration.

The problem doesn’t lie with the USFDA, according to Ms Hanh, but with the Vietnamese business leaders who don’t have the ability to channel their company’s resources to meet with the exacting standards and requirements for safe food.

Through globalization, it has become possible and attractive for local businesses to operate in far more countries.But going international requires a monumental and fundamentally novel way of leading and managing a business.

It requires business leaders to shift from the old management style of controlling individuals to organizing teams of workers;a change from coordinating work by hierarchical bureaucracies to dynamic linking;anda move from top-down communications to horizontal conversations.

Dealing with competitiveness thus implies a revolution in the way private sector businesses are run. To be sure, improvements in the tax code and streamlining regulations will help. But ‘business leaders’ need to start acting like true managers and draw on the long tradition of can-do management on which the country was built.

More now than ever in the history of the country, there is a need for a wider embrace of the ethos of imagination, exploration, experiment and discovery.Now to compete, businesses have to excel with their customers on a global basis.

Today to become successful, businesses need to continuously delight their customers with innovative and creative new products, said Ms Hanh. Whereas in the past just being a bit more efficient than the local competitor might have been enough to get by.

Most importantly Vietnamese business leaders have yet to step up and meet the challenges presented by globalization and the new age consumer demand for quality products— and discard the outdated concept that cheap is best, Ms Hanh concluded.

Vietbuild Construction Exhibition to open in Ho Chi Minh City

More than 800 exhibitors from 27 countries in the world will take part in the Vietbuild Construction International Exhibition (Phase 1) in Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre on June 23-27.

The exhibition will be held in 3 phases. The first phase, themed Construction – Building Materials – Real Estate & Interior - Exterior Decoration, has been the largest so far with more than 2,500 pavilions displaying materials, machinery and equipment along with technologies for the construction industry.

In addition to world leading brands, many notable construction groups and businesses in Vietnam like Viglacera, Prime, Phuc Khang, An Cuong, Hoa Sen, Secoin, Vicostone, Austdoor, and SCG will also join the exhibition.

They will introduce their latest products, equipment, technologies, and services in line with the themes of sustainable development and environmental protection.

Vietbuild Exhibition 2017, phase 2 will be held in late September under the theme ‘Real Estate - Architecture & Exterior-Interior Decoration’. In this exhibition, 800 businesses from 24 countries will showcase their products in 2,450 pavilions. Phase 3, themed ‘Housing - Home Decoration & Household Appliances’ will take place on December 14-18 with 2,450 pavilions from 12 countries. 

Vietjet Air to offer promotional tickets on Vietnam-Myanmar flights

To celebrate the summer, Vietjet Air is to organise a series of activities at Myanmar Plaza, looking to offer its visitors exciting performance and opportunities to buy super promotional tickets.

 The event’s participants cannot only enjoy playing games for lovely gifts, but also have chances to buy over 1,000 promotional tickets priced from only 0 USD, applied for Ho Chi Minh City-Yangon route for flight time being from July 10 to December 20, 2017 and Hanoi-Yangon for flight time from September 6 to December 20, 2017. 

Also, people visiting the site can enjoy exciting performances, try their luck with lucky wheel games and take photos with flight crew.

With its high-quality services, special low-fare tickets and diverse ticket classes, Vietjet offers its passengers enjoyable flights with dynamic and friendly flight crew, comfy seats, amazing hot meals, special surprises from the airline’s inflight activities and amazing ticket fares through “12pm, It’s time to Vietjet” promotion.

Vietjet Air is the first airline in Vietnam to operate as a new-age airline with low-cost and diversified services to meet customers’ demands. It provides not only transport services but also uses the latest e-commerce technologies to offer various products and services for consumers. 

Vietjet Air is a member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) with the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) certificate. The airline was also named as one of the Top 500 Brands in Asia 2016 by global marketing research company Nielsen and “Best Asian Low Cost Carrier” at the TTG Travel Awards 2015, which compiles votes from travelers, travel agencies and tour operators in throughout Asia. The airline was also rated as one of the top three fastest growing airline brands on Facebook in the world by Socialbakers.

Currently, the airline boasts a fleet of 45 aircraft, including A320s and A321s, and operates 350 flights each day. It has already opened 63 routes in Vietnam and across the region to international destinations such as Thailand, Singapore, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, China, Myanmar and Cambodia. It has carried nearly 35 million passengers to date.

Looking ahead, the airline plans to expand its network across the Asia Pacific region. To prepare for this plan, Vietjet Air has signed agreements with the world’s leading aircraft manufacturers to purchase more brand-new and modern aircraft.

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