Vietnam’s State budget collection in the first ten months of this year stood at 1.4 quadrillion VND ( 57 billion USD), accounting for 86.3% of the estimate, and down 9.2% year-on-year, the Ministry of Finance reported.

Domestic revenue dropped 5.9% from the same period last year to 1.16 quadrillion VND. Notably, the collection from crude oil reached some 51.4 trillion VND, exceeding the estimate by 22.4% and down 19.8% year-on-year.

According to the ministry, 24 localities across the country posted domestic revenue over 86% of their estimate, seven localities had higher revenue compared to the same period last year, and up to 56 localities saw a reduction in budget collection.

Minister of Finance Ho Duc Phoc said that the financial sector will strive to complete the financial and budget tasks in the two remaining months of this year.

Besides solutions to increase budget revenue, the ministry will continue to support businesses to boost production and business, which will contribute to promoting economic growth, thereby generating sustainable revenues for the State coffer.

Complete transport setup the end goal

Vietnam will continue to mobilise overseas loans to complete integral transport infrastructure, which in turn can help draw in foreign-invested capital.

The World Bank and the Ministry of Transport (MoT) on October 16 discussed loans of $5-7 billion to implement key railway and highway projects in Vietnam, which is a part of the country’s effort to make a breakthrough in infrastructure development.

The discussion came a month after a meeting between Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Would Bank Group President Ajay Banga on the sidelines of ASEAN summits in Indonesia. The prime minister had asked the World Bank to allocate a loan worth $5-7 billion over a three-year period for major infrastructure projects.

“Several transport ventures that require funding include the first phase of a 140-km railway project connecting Bien Hoa and Vung Tau city in the southern provinces of Dong Nai and Ba Ria-Vung Tau, respectively. A pre-feasibility study is expected to be completed in the first half of next year for the World Bank to assess,” said Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Thang.

Other essential schemes are the 151km Pleiku-Quy Nhon highway and the 70km Cam Lo-Lao Bao highway. These two projects are costed at $1.91 billion and $630.4 million, respectively, and pre-feasibility studies for the four-lane highways will be ready by mid-2024, Thang added.

Local authorities at all levels are eager to implement the construction of transport infrastructure across the country. The MoT has directed the creation of a list of priority projects requiring investment in transport infrastructure for the rest of this decade across road, railways, inland waterways, coastal and sea shipping, and aviation.

Based on the issued criteria, some key road traffic initiatives need to be prioritised for resources, including the North-South Expressway, Ring Road 4 in the Hanoi area, and Ring Road 3 in Ho Chi Minh City, among others.

According to the MoT, the need for capital in transport infrastructure by 2030 for these modes of transport comes to about $95.6 billion, excluding infrastructure maintenance.

The amount that could be mobilised from society and from outside the budget accounts for around 52 per cent, the MoT said.

A more complete transport infrastructure system would likely impact the result of foreign-invested capital attraction overall. Danny Dung, a representative of the investment promotion sector at the Institute for International Investment Studies told VIR, “During my 17-year experience in investment promotion, I see that transport infrastructure plays an extremely important role in making the investors’ final decision.”

The central city of Danang is one example, Dung said. Despite being one of the five largest cities in the country, it reports a modest result in foreign investment capital.

“One of the reasons is due to the lack of a cargo terminal at the airport. The major part of foreign-invested projects is in the manufacturing and processing sector and then export. Thus they pay attention to the transport infrastructure system,” Dung said.

“They can’t transport their products from Danang to international airports to Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City to export their products abroad. It is also the reason why Danang cannot engage larger investors,” he continued.

Meanwhile, these major manufacturers typically select surrounding localities such as Thai Nguyen, Bac Ninh, Nam Dinh, and Bac Giang in order to access stronger conditions to transport products abroad.

“Thus, logistics activity at cargo terminal airports in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City is always bustling,” Dung added.

Vietnam to import 119,000 tons of sugar through auction this year

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has announced a plan to import 119,000 tons of sugar in 2023 via auction.

The plan outlines the volume and allocation method for sugar imports in the year. The sugar imports will be categorized under H.S. code 17.01 and will be distributed through an auction mechanism.

This move marks a significant shift in Vietnam’s approach to sugar imports, emphasizing auction-based allocation to enhance transparency and promote competition.

The plan also highlights the importance of inter-ministerial coordination. The Ministry of Industry and Trade, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Finance, and other relevant government agencies, will work together to determine the timing of auction and ensure transparent announcements.

In a related development, the Government had previously conducted a sugar import quota auction in December 2022 for the 2021-2022 crop. Seven companies were granted quotas in this process, with a total of 125,000 tons of sugar distributed. Among the allocated quotas, 100,000 tons were for raw sugar, and 25,000 tons were for refined sugar.

Vietnam’s decision to expand the use of an auction mechanism for sugar import allocations in 2023 underscores the Government’s commitment to evolving its strategy in managing sugar imports and enhancing market competitiveness.

HCMC develops safe food supply chains

Although Ho Chi Minh City is considered as the country’s largest food consumption market, the city's food supply meets only 20-30 percent of demands.

Therefore, HCMC has proactively linked with other provinces and cities across the country to ensure enough safe food sources for residents.

Recently, the Ho Chi Minh City Food Safety Management Board had a working session with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Can Tho City in the province of Can Tho to coordinate the management and connection of agricultural and food consumption for production facilities and businesses in the safe food supply chain in the period 2021-2025.

Previously, the city’s Food Safety Management Board also worked with leaders of 15 provinces and cities such as Lam Dong, Dong Nai, Long An, Ben Tre, Hau Giang, Vinh Long, Dong Thap, Binh Thuan, Binh Phuoc, Tay Ninh, Ba Ria- Vung Tau and so on whose products are consumed in Ho Chi Minh City with large quantities, aiming at building and developing a safe supply chain of agricultural and aquatic products between Ho Chi Minh City and provinces and cities nationwide for consumption.

According to Associate Professor Dr. Pham Khanh Phong Lan, Head of the HCMC Food Safety Management Board, since 2020, the unit has been coordinating with 22 provincial and municipal departments of agriculture and rural development to create a database of 1,833 production facilities, businesses providing HCMC with agricultural, forestry and fresh aquatic products.

These supply sources meet safety certificates comprising GMP – Good Manufacturing Practice, HACCP - Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point System, ISO 22000 – international standard in field of food safety, IFS - International Food Standard, BRC - British Retailer Consortium, FSSC 22000 - Food Safety System Certification, VietGAP - Vietnamese Good Agricultural Practices, GlobalGAP - Global Good Agricultural Practice and so on.

From 2017 up to now, the Management Board of the “Food Safety Chain” has granted 824 certificates of food safety for 332 farms as well as vegetable production and livestock facilities with an output of more than one million tons of vegetables, meats, aquaculture products, over 2.2 billion eggs and 50.1 million liters of fish sauce and so on.

Through the implementation of the programs and the project of ensuring food safety collaborated with the Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development of cities and provinces, the HCMC Food Safety Management Board has established a management system for facilities meeting the food safety certificate to do business in Ho Chi Minh City, especially for the ones providing food for schools, industrial parks, export processing zones and modern business systems, heading to the management of wholesale and traditional markets.
 
Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Can Tho City Nguyen Tan Nhon informed that the city has more than 528 facilities for agriculture, forestry and aquaculture meeting the certificate of food safety, including 430 production facilities in the field of agricultural products, 66 ones in the field of aquaculture, five salt production facilities, five cold storages for food preservation and 22 business facilities.

At the current time, the Can Tho City Department of Agriculture and Rural Development requires the facilities, collectives and enterprises in the city to collaborate and link farmers to form a large supply chain of safe agriculture, forestry and aquaculture, large raw material area, increasing both the output and type of products that Can Tho's agricultural industry can produce to consume in Ho Chi Minh City.

Similarly, the whole Central Highlands province of Lam Dong has a total number of 227 linked chains of agriculture, forestry and aquaculture products, including 66 ones with products consumed in supermarkets of Go, MM market, Co.op Mart, Winmart+ and so on. HCMC market accounted for more than 60 percent over the total consumption of the linked chains.

Deputy Director of the Lam Dong Province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Van Chau said that the department monitored the process of using plant protection products for the facilities joining the safe food chain in Ho Chi Minh City.

In the upcoming time, the agricultural sector of the two localities will collaborate to build, sign and deploy cooperation plans, focusing on boosting the consumption of agricultural products and products meeting the requirements of the Ho Chi Minh City market.

Vietnamese businesses worried their exports labeled deforestation

Vietnamese businesses are worried their exports to the EU will be labeled deforestation after the EU's ban on deforestation-linked imports has been issued.

Yesterday afternoon, in Hanoi, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan chaired the conference on deploying the action plan to adapt to the European Union Regulation on Deforestation-free Products (EUDR).

Before the seafood industry's IUU yellow card" was removed, Vietnamese business exporters fretted that their goods to the EU were at risk of being labeled as high-risk goods if they did not comply well with the EUDR which aims to minimize the risk of commodities and products associated with deforestation being placed on the EU market or exported.

The EU deforestation regulation (EUDR) aims to prevent commodities associated with deforestation from entering the EU market. The EUDR covers imports of various commodities, including cocoa, coffee, palm oil, and rubber, plus products derived from them, such as chocolate, tires, and shoes.

If the seven commodities - cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, rubber, soy and wood items come from land that was deforested after Dec. 31, 2020, they will be banned from import into this market.

Based on investigative evidence and information collected on the relationship between goods and the risk of deforestation, the European Commission’s EUDR will reflect numerous factors including the risk category of the country of production such as high risk, standard risk, or low risk.

Coffee exports may be banned into the EU under the new regulation
 
Accordingly, the EU will apply the above criteria to "label" countries or production regions within that country before the final decision is December 30, 2024. According to Managing Director of Forest Trends' Forest Policy, Trade, and Finance Initiative To Xuan Phuc, Vietnam will be in a disadvantageous position if the EU takes the product with the highest risk of deforestation as the basis for national risk labeling.

At the conference on the afternoon of November 4, representatives of authorities, associations and businesses said that the biggest difficulty that agricultural supply chains in Vietnam are facing when meeting new EU regulations is a database to locate forest areas, trace origin, and deploy an anti-deforestation monitoring system.

Because the preparation time until this regulation begins to apply is less than 18 months, it is necessary to urgently review products in the most risky areas in the agricultural supply chain, especially the smallholder sector. Accordingly, there needs to be a plan to collect and process information from millions of farming households according to new regulations on anti-deforestation.

Minister Le Minh Hoan determined that this is an opportunity to restructure industries related to forests and forestry economics such as coffee, rubber, wood and products processed from wood. Working to end deforestation and forest degradation is not only an EU regulation but a world trend in green growth towards a transparent, responsible and sustainable economy and agriculture.

Minister Le Minh Hoan encouraged industry associations to proactively prepare and implement the new changes though these changes bring difficulties. Without preparation for new changes, businesses will face more barriers, he said.

Year-end labour market shows positive signs

Local businesses are intensifying recruitment to boost production aimed at promptly completing orders, thereby helping the labor market continue to have more positive and drastic changes in the remaining months of the year.

According to the latest data from the General Statistics Office (GSO), the past 9 months saw the number of employed workers in the country reach 51.2 million, an increase of 776,000 people over the same period from last year. Of which, the urban area had 19 million people, a rise of 321,600 people, while rural areas registered 32.2 million people, an increase of 454,300 people.

Data from the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs also shows that the labor force and the number of employee in the third quarter of 2023 continued to increase compared to the previous quarter and compared to the same period from last year.

Notably, the number of workers forced to take time off, quit their jobs, and lose their jobs in businesses starting in the fourth quarter of 2022 has decreased sharply.

Assessing the labor market over the past 9 months, the ministry said that besides some negatively affected sectors, there were still industries with increased industrial production index, with total retail sales of goods and consumer service revenue recording growth, thereby creating jobs for many workers.

​In recent times, the number of newly established businesses and those resume operations were also higher than those withdrawing from the market, contributing to creating more jobs for employees.

In particular, during the reviewed period, the total number of Vietnamese workers working abroad stood at more than 111,500, exceeding the target of 101.37% set for the whole year 2023, signaling positive changes in job creation.

According to the Hanoi Employment Service Center, the labor market in the city in the third quarter continued to maintain growth momentum, achieving positive results, with manufacturing industries and sectors seeing stable recovery and development.

Recruitment demand focused mainly on trade- service and, industry- construction sectors and these factors have helped the labor market "warm" gradually.

Vu Quang Thanh, deputy director of the Hanoi Employment Service Center, said that through organizing job trading sessions, it can be seen that the labor market at the end of the year showed many signs of improvement.

The number of businesses engaging in job transactions or recruitment needs of businesses has also increased significantly.

Job targets and positions are very diverse in different fields of work. This reflects reality because from now until the end of the year, there will be many major holidays such as Christmas, New Year, and Lunar New Year, which will have a positive impact on recruitment trends, especially for part-time job positions.

In the fourth quarter, Hanoi will need between 35,000 and 45,000 workers. Recruitment demand continues to focus on a number of fields and industries such as trade and services and production activities.

During the past 10 months of the year, the capital city created jobs for 186,000-170,000 workers, reaching 114.9% of the plan, Thanh went on to say.

During this period alone, the Hanoi Employment Service Center conducted 215 job trading sessions, with the number of participating businesses being 7,000. As a result, over 15,000 workers have been recruited directly at job sessions.

Thanh affirmed that the increase in the number of newly established businesses shows good prospects for the labor market.

Also according to Thanh, the number of job trading sessions as well as job introduction will be conducted very actively from now until the end of the year in a bid to support businesses in recruitment, completing orders, and developing production. This is addition to helping workers find jobs and job positions that suit their abilities, qualifications, and skills.

Asso. Prof, PhD. Dinh Trong Thinh from the Academy of Finance also commented that in the last months of the year, the labor market has seen a relatively clear change, with the growing number of job seekers and employed people.

The number of newly established businesses and those resuming operations in September and October have reported spike, attracting a large number of workers and jobs for the national economy. These are positive signs in the labor market in the final months of the year.

Bình Định Province seeks investment from RoK 

A delegation from the central province of Bình Định led by Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Hồ Quốc Dũng on November 3 organised an investment promotion conference in the Republic of Korea (RoK) as part of their visit to the country.

At the event, the provincial leader informed Korean enterprises about the province’s advantages and incentives that it offers to foreign investors, including those from the RoK.

In recent years, Bình Định has always been in the group of localities with the best performance in the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI). In 2022, it topped 63 provinces and cities in Việt Nam in the equal competition sub-index of the PCI, showing its outstanding efforts in improving the quality of economic management and creating a favourable business environment for private enterprises.

The province is also one of the localities with the most outstanding administrative reforms.

According to the official, once investing in the province, depending on the industry, investors can be exempted from land rent for a number of years, and enjoy tax reduction and exemption.

From a backward agricultural province, Bình Định has risen to the 6th among 14 north central and central coast provinces in terms of Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP). It strives to become a science and technology, innovation, an artificial intelligence (AI) hub in Việt Nam.

At the conference, the People's Committee of Bình Định province signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation with the Việt Nam - Korea Businessmen and Investment Association (VKBIA).

Previously, the Bình Định delegation had working sessions with the Office of Yongsan district in Seoul city, and the authorities of Incheon city. They also visited the Vietnamese Embassy in the RoK. 

Trina Solar to pour additional US$420 million into Thai Nguyen

Trina Solar, a world energy leader of China that provides Photovoltaic module and smart energy solutions, has decided to inject an additional US$420 million into its ongoing projects in the northern province of Thai Nguyen.

Jifan Gao, chairman and general manager of Trina Solar, made the announcement at a reception hosted by Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang in Hanoi on November 5.

Jifan said Trina Solar has invested in two projects at Yen Binh Industrial Park in Thai Nguyen with a total registered investment capital of US$478 million. To implement its third phase, the Chinese group has proposed an additional US$420 million in Thai Nguyen. This is considered the group’s largest investment abroad in the photovoltaic field.

Trina Solar hopes to receive further attention and support from Vietnamese authorities to promote its research and investment in rooftop solar power projects locally, he said.

Deputy Prime Minister Tran luu Quang welcomed the group’s expansion plan, noting renewable energy development is a common trend in the world, including Vietnam, aiming to achieve the goal of net zero gas emissions by 2050.

He said Vietnam is building and promulgating specific mechanisms and policies to spur the development of renewable energy, including solar energy.

The Deputy Prime Minister requested that the group help Vietnamese businesses to engage in the global supply chain in general as well as its supply chain in particular;

He also suggested that Trina Solar lower product costs, improve the performance of solar energy storage devices, and introduce solutions to treat environmental pollution for storage devices at the end of their useful life.

Ministry works to ensure rice export

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) is close monitoring rice production and the world rice market with a view to promptly tackling arising problems and facilitating rice production, business and export.

Statistics showed that as of the end of October, Vietnam exported 7.1 million tonnes of rice for about 3.97 billion USD, a rise of 17% in volume and 34.9% in value over 2022. Vietnamese export rice price increased 15.3% year on year.

In the first nine months of 2023, Asia was the largest market of Vietnam, consuming 76% of the country’s total rice export volume. It was followed by Australia with 2.41%, Europe 1.6% and America 1.5%.

Particularly, the Philippines continued to be the biggest importer of Vietnam's rice with nearly 2.5 million tonnes, accounting for 38.1% of Vietnam's total rice export volume.

According to the MoIT, Vietnam has been keeping to the right direction on rice export structure and quality as outlined by the rice export market development strategy until 2030, with white rice accounting for the largest share (55.5% or 3.56 million tonnes), followed by fragrant rice (24% or 1.5 million tonnes) and sticky rice (8.5% or 545,000 tonnes).

In the face of complicated developments in global food trade, including India's ban on export of non-basmati white rice, Russia's withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, climate change and El Nino phenomenon, the MoIT has coordinated with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the People’s Committees of rice production localities, the Vietnam Food Association as well as rice traders to roll out various measures to regulate rice production and export activities in 2023, while ensuring the stability of the domestic rice market.

At the same time, the MoIT has regularly inspected rice business and exporting activities of traders. It has revoked the rice export certificate from 28 traders who did not export rice for 18 consecutive months after receiving the certificate, contributing to creating a business environment that is more open, transparent, and fairer in line with the law.

Export regains growth pace

The export turnover in October is expected to reach 32.3 billion USD, up 5.3 month-on-month, showing a positive signal given the 6.3% decrease recorded in the previous month.

The agricultural sector continued to have impressive contributions to the export panorama. In the month, agro-fisheries products earned about 3 billion USD, up 18.3% year-on-year.

This is also the only commodity group to record growth in the first 10 months of 2023, with export turnover estimated at 26.7 billion USD, a year-on-year increase of 3.8%.

Rice is one of the products with a high export turnover in the period. Do Ha Nam, Vice President of the Vietnam Food Association (VFA), said that paddy prices in Vietnam are at record highs, pushing domestic rice prices higher than those for export. This is also the reason why Vietnam's rice export prices continue to go against the world tide.

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), in September, tra fish exports reported positive growth for the first time since the beginning of this year. Although the increase is only 1% over the same period last year, this is still a very good sign for the fisheries sector. Currently, China is Vietnam’s biggest tra fish importer, followed by the US.

To promote import-export growth, the Ministry of Industry and Trade is accelerating negotiations towards the signing of new trade agreements and commitments, including completing and realising a free trade agreement (FTA) with Israel, and signing other FTAs and trade deals with potential partners such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) to diversify markets, products, and supply chains.

It will support businesses to take advantage of commitments in signed FTAs, especially the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), and the UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) to promote exports, through dissemination on rules of origin, issuance of certificate of origin, and opportunities and ways to make the most of advantages brought about by these deals.

The ministry will also coordinate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to negotiate with China to further open the market for other Vietnamese fruit and vegetable products such as green grapefruit, fresh coconut, avocado, pineapple, star apple, lemon and melon, while improving efficiency of and regulating the speed of customs clearance at border gates between Vietnam and China.

Ten-month retail sales of consumer goods, services up 9.4%

Vietnam’s total retail sales of consumer goods and services saw a year-on-year increase of 9.4% to more than 5.1 trillion VND (207.8 million USD) during January – October, the General Statistics Office said.

Revenue from retail sales of goods was nearly 3.99 trillion VND, accounting for 78.1% of the total and up 8.3% year-on-year. 

Notably, revenue from tourism surged 47.6% to an estimated 30.2 trillion VND as localities nationwide have carried out an array of tourism offerings as well as cultural and sport activities to stimulate travel demand.

Strong rise in revenue from retail sales of goods and services was seen in several localities, including Da Nang (143.8%), Khanh Hoa (137.9%), Quang Ninh (94.9%), Ho Chi Minh City (68%), Hanoi (59.5 %), Hai Phong, (47.35%) and can Tho (32.4 %).

Experts said that revenue from retail sales is expected to rise until the end of this year on the back of economic recovery and acceleration of public investment disbursement. However, as domestic consumption remains weak and is on a sluggish recovery due to the lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is necessary to sketch out rational solutions and attractive programmes to lure more foreign tourists, and bolster domestic tourism so as to fuel consumption.

Over the past time, an array of incentives has been implemented by the Government to encourage spending, comprising organisation of discount programmes, reduction of interest rates and personal income tax, and enhanced social welfare support.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade will join hands with competent ministries, sectors and localities to keep a close watch on the market situation, ensure sufficient essential items, and stabilise the market during year-end holidays.

Vietnam promotes rice exports to China

A delegation of the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) led by Deputy Director of the ministry’s Agency of Foreign Trade Tran Quoc Toan and representatives from 19 Vietnamese rice exporters have paid a working visit to Beijing, China to promote Vietnamese rice in the market.

During the visit, the Vietnamese delegation worked with representatives from the Ministry of Commerce of China, the China Animal Agriculture Association, and Xinfadi Group and visited the Vietnam Trade Office in China.

According to the MoIT, in the structure of exports from Vietnam to China, rice shipments have seen good growth in recent years, accounting for nearly one-fifth of China's total rice imports. In 2022, Vietnam's rice exports to China reached 834,200 tonnes, worth 423.2 million USD.

In the first nine months of 2023, China imported nearly 869,000 tonnes of rice from Vietnam, an increase of 41.1% over the same period in 2022.

Notably, Vietnam is capable of supplying popular rice varieties in China and has established long-term traditional partnerships.

Vietnamese rice exporting businesses always recognise that China is an important market, ranking 2nd among Vietnam's rice importers, thereby constantly making efforts to improve product quality and packaging to better meet the regulations, demands, and tastes of Chinese consumers.

To consolidate the trade relations between the two countries in general and their rice trade in particular, especially for the Northern China area, the delegation proposed and reached an agreement with Chinese agencies, associations, and agricultural and food businesses, especially Chinese rice businesses.

Specifically, the two sides will strengthen trade support and establish information exchange channels to jointly solve arising issues and promote Vietnam's rice exports to China.

Besides, they will consider signing memoranda of understanding to promote exports and trade promotion between the two countries while supporting Vietnamese rice products to enter deeply into China's traditional retail and e-commerce channels.

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