Export activities bustled on the first workday after the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday on February 15 with many batches of goods departing for foreign markets such as the US, the EU and Australia.

In Long An international port, 15,000 tonnes of plastic beads left the port for Europe on the day. Meanwhile, two containers with about 18 tonnes of coffee branded Meet More each were sent to Australia.

Data from the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) showed that import-export activities have been bustling since the beginning of 2024, with total revenue hit over 64 billion USD in January, up nearly 38% year on year, including 33,57 billion USD from exports, a rise of 42%.

The majority of export markets are recovering, it said, adding that the US continued to be the biggest market of Vietnam in January with an export revenue of about 9.6 billion USD, up 55.8% year on year.

A strong rise was also seen in other major markets such as China with 57.8%, the EU with 17.9%, ASEAN 38.5%, Japan 39.6%, the Republic of Korea 22.4%, and the EU 18%.

MoIT Minister Nguyen Hong Dien said that in January, the country enjoyed a trade surplus of 2.92 billion USD, while industrial production also grew 18.3%. However, he underlined the need for strong efforts right from the beginning of the year to realise the set target of 6% growth in exports this year.

In the first month of 2024, Vietnam's Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) rebounded to 50.3 points compared to 48.9 points in December 2023. The index reveals that the health of the manufacturing industry improved for the first time in five months.

The European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham) commented that Vietnam’s economic recovery is on the right track. It advised the country to focus on building stronger trade relations with major export markets and increase export value through processing.

Experts said that the fulcrum for export growth in 2024 is the system of 17 free trade agreements that have been implemented, giving businesses advantages in negotiating orders and opening up markets.

VinFast signs letters of intent with Indonesia dealers

Vietnamese electric vehicle (EV) maker VinFast signed the Letters of Intent with its first five dealers in Indonesia on February 16 while attending the Indonesia International Motor Show (IIMS) which is taking place from February 15 to 25.

The signing is a step forward in VinFast's plan to expand its distribution network in Indonesia as well as strengthen brand recognition and competitive capacity in the global EV market.

The dealers are the BAM, GNA and GSU with headquarters in Jakarta, the MCA based in Medan and Majesty in Batam, who will sell VF 5, VF e34, VF6 and VF7 models right after they are launched in the Indonesia market.

Prices and sales details, including order time and aftersales policies will be announced in the first half of this year.

VinFast Indonesia CEO Tran Quoc Huy said that VinFast is proud to cooperate with leading dealers in Indonesia so as to empower consumers with diverse choice for smart and environmentally-friendly transportation solutions.

The cooperation will not only lay a solid development foundation for VinFast and its partners but also unleash boundless potential of the green transport sector in the locality and the region as a whole, he added.

BAM director Hartono Kurniawan said he expects the strategic cooperation will bring the Indonesian market more international-standard vehicles with modern designs, competitive prices and sound aftersales policies, helping develop the local electric automobile industry.

VinFast eyes expansion of EV distribution in major cities across Indonesia in 2024. The move demonstrates VinFast's determination to quickly become the preferred EV brand for Indonesian consumers, as well as illustrates its global vision, including the goal of promoting the zero-emission transportation revolution for a green future for everyone.

The company will build an electric vehicle manufacturing plant in Indonesia with a projected capacity of 50,000 cars per year.

The planned factory is expected to create thousands of jobs and contribute to the development of a robust domestic electric vehicle industry. Upon operational, the plant will also represent a key link in VinFast's global electric vehicle supply chain.

FPT IS, Carbon EX cooperate to promote carbon credit projects

FPT Information System Company Limited (FPT IS) and Carbon EX have just signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in providing services and solutions to promote carbon credit projects.

The collaboration between the two companies aimed to promote carbon credit projects that adhere to international standards.

FPT IS, a subsidiary of FPT Group, will serve as the intermediary between organisations and businesses in Vietnam, providing services and solutions to drive green transformation projects. This includes leveraging technology for project implementation, management and carbon credit applications.

Carbon EX is a trading platform based in Japan that specialises in carbon credits and renewable energy certificates. They also offer consultancy services for the development of carbon credit projects worldwide. Carbon EX brings expertise in structuring new carbon credit projects, guiding them through the validation and approval processes, and supporting the adoption of approaches that meet global standards.

Through this collaboration, Vietnamese businesses can partner with FPT IS and Carbon EX to establish standardised carbon credits and effectively operate and manage carbon credit projects. This partnership aims to support sustainable practices and contribute to global efforts in mitigating climate change.

Vietnam promotes digitalisation in customs activities

The General Department of Customs in 2024 will continue to reform customs policies and procedures, as well as build and deploy digital customs.

That will contribute to creating favourable conditions for import-export businesses, supporting trade promotion and helping the country's economy achieve its growth target.

This year, the General Department of Customs is assigned by the National Assembly a state budget revenue of 375 trillion VND, including 204 trillion VND from import and export activities. However, the state budget revenue from import and export activities is forecast to continue to face many factors affecting the world's economy and society.

To ensure the legal basis for implementing customs reform and modernisation in the coming time, the customs sector has been focusing on completing submission of documents on legal implementation of customs administrative procedures on electronic and digital platforms to the Government and the Ministry of Finance for promulgation.

Specifically, the Ministry of Finance issued Circular 33/2023/TT-BTC dated May 31, 2023 on determining the origin of export and import goods.

At the same time, the customs sector continues to accelerate completion of draft decrees that play a particularly important role in promoting administrative reform, creating favourable conditions in enterprises' activities of goods import and export, and implementing all customs procedures and tax management for these goods.

They include a decree regulating the management mechanism, methods, order and procedures for quality and food safety inspection for imported goods; a decree on customs management of import and export goods traded via e-commerce; and a decree amending and supplementing Decree 08/2015/ND-CP on implementing the Customs Law's regulations on customs procedures, inspection and supervision.

At the same time, the customs sector also focuses on building and completing the digital customs and smart customs project, synchronously and comprehensively implementing solutions to promote digital transformation in customs activities, said Nguyen The Viet, deputy director of the division on customs supervision and management, General Department of Customs.

This project also aims to manage activities of the customs in the digital environment from the entire process of implementing customs procedures, including before, during and after customs clearance. That ensures seamless management from beginning stage to the end for exported, imported and transited goods; and transport means.

The General Department of Customs also continues to actively propose reforms in management and specialised inspection of import and export goods.

In addition, customs authorities improve the operational efficiency of the National Single Window and ASEAN Single Window, gradually implementing digital transformation of this system to optimise their operation.

Now, all core customs procedures are implemented on the VNACCS/VCIS system at all customs offices nationwide. The General Department of Customs also provides online public services at levels 3 and 4 for other administrative procedures, the representative of the General Department of Customs said.

Last year, Vietnam's total goods import and export value was estimated to reach 683 billion USD, down 6.6% from the previous year. Of which, exports decreased by 4.4% while imports decreased by 8.9%.

With the existing difficulties in the global and home markets, from the beginning of 2023, the General Department of Customs synchronously and promptly implemented tasks and solutions according to the issued resolutions to facilitate trade activities, remove difficulties for businesses and implement State budget revenue plan.

Viet said notably, the General Department of Customs issued Decision 123/QD-TCHQ on implementing administrative reform, simplifying customs procedures, and facilitating trading activities in 2023.

Accordingly, the customs sector has reduced by 10% the time required to implement customs clearance and goods handling. The number of electronic documents certifying the origin of goods also increased sharply.

Customs authorities prioritise the implementation of customs clearance procedures for agricultural products and perishable goods, and work with local authorities to actively complete customs clearance at the northern border gates, he said. Border gates in Lang Son province are currently operating customs clearance from 7 am to 10 pm.

In 2023, import and export activities were conducted at six border gates in Lang Son province. The total import-export turnover of Lang Son reached nearly 5 billion USD, an increase of 60.9% year on year.

The customs clearance of fruit and agricultural products was carried out smoothly, with no congestion, contributing to maintaining stability in bilateral trade activities and ensuring the supply chain of goods.

VinFast EVs impress visitors at Indonesia International Motor Show 2024

Vietnam’s leading electric vehicle maker VinFast has impressed visitors with its right-hand drive EV models on display at the Indonesia International Motor Show 2024 (IIMS 2024) that is getting underway from February 15 to 25. 

The auto maker brought almost all of its popular EV models, including VF 5, VF 6, VF e34, VF 7, VF 8 and VF 9, to the show, making its endeavour to enter international markets, especially right-hand drive markets.

VinFast’s display area with a range of right-hand drive EVs in segments A - E attracted thousands of visitors to the motor show. The visitors said the cars have beautiful designs, American and European styles, and diverse and eye-catching colors that are different from other EV brands from Asia with old designs.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo and other Indonesian officials visited VinFast’s display area, signed on the VinFast VF 5 and test-drove the car. During his working visit to Vietnam, President Widodo visited the VinFast factory in Hai Phong on January 1, 2024 and said he would create conditions for the Vietnamese EV maker to soon complete production and business investment procedures in the Indonesian market.

VinFast’s EV appearance at the show grabbed international headlines. Many Indonesian newspapers and specialized sites such as JawaPos, Maketeers, Gatra, CNN Indonesia, Jakarta Globe, Detik, and Otodriver made wide coverage of the event.

In its article, Wapcar even revealed that VinFast would build its Indonesia factory in Bekasi city, West Java, and before this factory officially takes shape, VinFast would import complete vehicles from Vietnam.

The site also Wapcar also revealed that the Indonesia factory would not only produce cars for Indonesia but would also export its products to other countries, including Malaysia.

Meanwhile, Otomotif also disclosed that Indonesian Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita had a meeting with VinFast’s board of directors to discuss the firm’s investment in Indonesia.

Vietnam rakes in over US$14 million from longan exports

Vietnam earned more than US$14 million from exporting longans last year, witnessing a 2.5-fold rise year on year, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs.       

The fruit secured the second largest export growth last year after durian, with China, Australia, Thailand, and Japan all being the major importers.

Paul Le, vice president of Central Retail in Vietnam, said Vietnamese longans have been favoured among Thai consumers as the export volume of the fruit to the market soared by about 40% last year.

Last year witnessed the export price of Vietnamese longans remain stable. Currently, the price of Ido longan, a longan variety from Thailand grown in Vietnam, stood at between VND16,000 and VND18,000 per kilo. At this price, local farmers earned a profit of between VND8 million and VND15 million per 1,000 square metres.

With regard to future export prospects, the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association said China is the largest consumer of Vietnamese longans, noting that the Vietnamese fruit is highly competitive with the Thai in the potential market thanks to its improved product quality, helping to meet stringent export standards.

Currently, longan is among the top five fruit trees with the largest growing area in Vietnam with more than 80,000 hectares and an average output of about 600,000 tonnes annually.

Vietnamese exports to Australia bring back nearly US$5.23 billion

Vietnam’s exports to Australia hit US$5.23 billion last year, representing a slight fall of 5.3% compared to the previous year, according to statistics released by the General Department of Vietnam Customs.       

The group of phones and components secured the largest export turnover with US$589.25 million, representing a fall of 23% year on year. They were followed by machinery, equipment, tools, and spare parts (US$562.88 million), crude oil (US$552.35 million) and computers, electronic products and components (US$506 million).

Industry insiders attributed the decline to the global economic recession.

Meanwhile, Vietnam spent over US$8.53 billion on importing goods from Australia, down 15.7% compared to 2022.

Most notably, coal imports of all kinds took the lead valued at US$3.28 billion, followed by ores and minerals (US$1.06 billion), cotton (US$1.02 billion), and wheat (US$924.5 million).

In fact, Vietnam – Australia trade has continued to enjoy robust growth in recent years as the two sides are fully tapping into incentives from a number of multilateral trade agreements.

In 2022, two-way trade turnover between the two countries reached US$15.7 billion, up 26.9% compared to 2021, making Australia the country’s seventh largest trading partner.

Of the total, Vietnamese exports edged up 26.2% to US$5.6 billion, whilst imports surged 27.3% to US$10.1 billion.

Vĩnh Long ceramic tile industry to be enhanced

Vĩnh Long Province’s ceramic tile industry has recently made strong changes. Ceramic bricks are becoming more popular among domestic and foreign customers, especially in the field of tourism, which is considered one of the new directions to preserve and promote traditional brick kilns.

The province expects the ceramic tile industry to make new strides this year.

Memory

According to the Vĩnh Long People's Committee, the brick and tile manufacturing industry appeared in the locality in the early 19th century.

By the mid-twentieth century, 39 kilns in the province produced fired bricks and tiles. At that time, about 600-800 people worked in the industry.

By the early years of the 21st century, the number of brick kilns increased sharply to more than 2,200.

​The ceramic industry was born in 1983 and developed strongly between 1997 and 2007.

The brick and ceramic kilns are mainly concentrated in Mang Thít and Long Hồ districts.

In its heyday, the ceramic tile industry had nearly 3,000 kilns operating all year round.

Thousands of tile and ceramic products with different designs and styles created by talented craftsmen have been favoured by customers.

In particular, recent years, ceramic products have been exported to foreign markets such as the US, Australia, Taiwan (China), Hong Kong (China), Korea and Japan.

Nguyễn Văn Buôi, owner of the Tân Hiệp Phát brick and tile production workshop in An Phước Commune, Mang Thít District, said: "With much experience, local people have been very successful in taking advantage of the traditional kilns to make pottery. The famous red brick and ceramic craft village in Vĩnh Long was also formed from there. Many businesses are enthusiastically investing in expanding production and researching to improve product making processes. Product categories are also more diverse."

However, as time goes by and society develops, the ceramic brick village of Vĩnh Long Province has faced great difficulties and challenges.

From the 2010s onwards, the ceramic brick industry began to slow down due to high production costs and low selling prices. Brick kilns began to show signs of loss, so they no longer operated with large output as before.

Some facilities have improved, but the technology of the brick and ceramic industry is still outdated with low efficiency and competitiveness.

One of the major problems of brick and ceramic production facilities is smoke and dust, because most of them still use traditional technology, causing pollution.

Environmental pollution and long firing time increase production costs and reduce competitiveness compared to modern kilns.

Many workshops that do not have enough capacity to change technology and processes gradually give up the work, leaving only a few who want to maintain the profession.

The ceramic brick village gradually became desolate.

People excitedly take photos on the Ceramic and Spring Flower Road 2024 in Vĩnh Long City, Vĩnh Long Province.
Facing difficulties, Vĩnh Long Province has implemented many solutions to revive the craft villages.

In 2013, it issued a project to reorganise the brick and ceramic production industry, and in 2016, it promulgated a project to improve the value chain of red ceramic production industry.

The projects offered many supportive policies such as preferential interest rate for loans to invest in production, support trade promotion and e-commerce application, and supply machinery and advanced equipment in production.

As for the results, from only 1-2 production facilities for unbaked bricks at first, by 2017 the province had 11 facilities with a total capacity of over 300 million bricks per year.

For ceramic bricks, by 2020, the province had 21 workshops.

Currently, most ceramic enterprises have applied modern technology, improving production processes and competitiveness.

The province's average output is about five million products, with an estimated value of about VNĐ400 billion (US$16.3 million) per year.

In addition to improving the quality and competitiveness of ceramic tile products, Vĩnh Long Province has approved the project "Mang Thít Contemporary Heritage".

This new initiative aims to preserve and develop traditional ceramic brick craft combined with tourism development on the basis of exploiting existing ceramic brick kilns.

To implement this project, the province has issued a specific support policy for preserving brick and ceramic kilns.

Accordingly, the 3,000-hectare heritage area with 653 kilns will be preserved by local people.

The initiative has been widely welcomed by the people, especially craft villagers.

Vĩnh Long Province hopes that the locality will become an attractive tourist destination, promoting craft villages as a new feature in the province’s cultural identities.

The project "Mang Thít Contemporary Heritage" was based on the idea of exploiting the existing traditional ceramic brick kilns to develop tourism, while conserving their traditional cultural value.

The project covers Mỹ An, Mỹ Phước, Nhơn Phú and Hòa Tịnh communes.

Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Phan Văn Già said that the project’s goal is to turn the localities into a contemporary heritage complex, a destination on the regional tourism map.

The effort is in accordance with local sustainable socio-economic development strategy on the basis of intensifying the unique cultural values.

The project will help people in the region transform their livelihoods and improve their lives.

Dương Chí Hiền, who lives in Nhơn Phú Commune, has cherished the idea of building a red ceramic coffee shop next to the Thầy Cai Canal. The cafeteria will be decorated mainly with bright red bricks and ceramics.

Guests standing on the upper floor can admire the surrounding scenery with kilns located close together.

Accompanying ceramic tile manufacturing businesses in recent times, the provincial Ceramic Tile Association and local authorities have played a major role.

The province has been widely promoting the image of ceramic tile products through a series of events: the Việt Nam Agricultural Product Festival Vĩnh Long 2023, the Vĩnh Long Tourism Festival 2023, and the Ceramic and Spring Flower Road 2024.

Chairwoman of the Vĩnh Long Ceramic Tile Association Đoàn Thị Ngọc Diệp said that through strong promotion, ceramic tile products have become known to many domestic and foreign customers.

With new directions, this year the association will continue to research and improve technology to enhance productivity and quality, and limit environmental pollution.

Deputy Chairman of the provincial People's Committee Nguyễn Văn Liệt said that to expand red ceramic products with unique characteristics, Vĩnh Long Province would implement policies and support projects for businesses.

The province will help ceramic businesses to research and improve technology to reduce costs and increase product competitiveness.

In addition, the province also supports businesses to directly export red ceramic products instead of going through intermediaries like before.

The enterprises will increase e-commerce application in trading to expand domestic and foreign consumption markets. 

HCM City, Mekong Delta welcome millions of visitors in Tết

HCM City received 1.8 million visitors during the Tết (Lunar New Year) holiday from February 8-14, up 5.9 per cent year-on-year, according to the city Department of Tourism.

International tourists reached over 75,000, up 15.4 per cent, including cruise passengers and tourists from Europe, the US, Australia, and Japan.

The holiday’s tourism revenue was VNĐ6.55 trillion (US$267.1 million), an increase of 4 per cent compared to the same period last year.

The city’s favourite attractions in Tết saw millions of local and foreign visitors.

The 2024 Nguyễn Huệ Flower Street themed ‘Spring of Love – Tết Reunion’ attracted more than 1.2 million visitors from February 7-14.

The flower street received praises from visitors with a pair of winding dragon sculptures spanning over 100 metres with head circumferences exceeding two metres each, the largest size for a zodiac animal ever displayed at the annual event.

The dragons were crafted from eco-friendly materials, mostly bamboo and rattan.

More than 90,000 baskets of 99 flower varieties including carnations, geraniums, dahlias, begonias, and more were used in a vibrant palette of red, orange, and yellow across the street.

According to Saigontourist Group, the event's organiser, around 10 million images of the 2024 Nguyễn Huệ Flower Street were uploaded on social media platforms during the Tết holiday.

The 2024 Tết Book Fair, which opened from February 7-14, also welcomed over one million visitors, a year-on-year increase of 11.1 per cent.

The fair displayed around 5,000 book titles on various topics from 30 major publishers and book distributors in the city such as Trẻ (Youth) Publishing House, Phương Nam Books, and HCM City General Publishing House.

It also showcased publications by President Hồ Chí Minh, Party and State leaders, and a collection of rare and precious books.

The fair sold 76,158 books, up 22.5 per cent, while revenue reached more than VNĐ10 billion ($407,700), up 18.2 per cent. 
Meanwhile, Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta provinces saw a large number of visitors in Tết.

An Giang Province served more than 610,000 local and international visitors, an increase of 20 per cent compared to the same period last year.

The number of overnight guests was 5,600, including 1,106 foreign tourists.

The most-visited attractions in the province included Tức Dụp Hill in Tri Tôn District, Trà Sư Cajuput Forest in Tịnh Biên District, the Sam Mountain National Tourism Area in Châu Đốc City, and the Óc Eo – Ba Thê Cultural Relic Site in Thoại Sơn District.

The province also hosted activities to serve tourists such as buffets consisting of nearly 50 kinds of Southern traditional cakes, and performances of Kylin – Lion – Dragon dances at tourism sites.

In 2024, An Giang targets to welcome 9 million visitors, including 800,000 overnight guests, and tourism revenue will reach VNĐ6.2 trillion ($253 million).

Cần Thơ City also received 398,000 visitors during Tết, including 104,000 overnight guests, according to the city’s People’s Committee.

Its tourism revenue was VNĐ415 billion ($17 million).

The city launched several activities to serve residents and visitors during Tết, such as the ‘Spring in the Countryside’ fair, a calligraphy street at the Museum of Cần Thơ, a flower road at Hậu River Park in Ninh Kiều District, and fireworks displays at five venues. 

Source: VNA/SGT/VNS/VOV/Dtinews/SGGP/VGP/Hanoitimes