3 billion usd

Hanoi (VNA) – Import-export value of agro-forestry-fisheries products hit nearly 11 billion USD in the first two months of 2021, resulting in 1.37 billion USD in trade surplus, up 28.4 percent year on year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

The ministry reported that a year-on-year rise was recorded in the export value of many products such as rubber , tea , cashew, vegetables and fruit and forestry products.

In the first two months of this year, the US remained the largest market of Vietnamese agro-forestry-fisheries products with 2.04 billion USD, up 57.3 percent year on year and accounting for 33.05 percent of the market share. It was followed by China, ASEAN, the EU, Japan and the Republic of Korea.

The export value of aquatic products reached 405 million USD in February, pushing the figure in the first two months of 2021 to over 1 billion USD, up 2.2 percent over the same period last year, reported the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

According to the association, exports of tra fish saw positive signals since the beginning of this year after consecutive drops in 2020, with a 1.7 percent rise in the first two months of 2021 to 214 million USD.

In January, excepting for China and the EU, upturn was seen in the majority of markets of Vietnamese tra fish, including the US with 51 percent, Mexico 73 percent, Australia 45 percent and Canada 42 percent. Other markets such as Brazil, Colombia, the UK and Russia also experienced an increase of 37-129 percent.

Meanwhile, shrimp export in February was estimated at 160 million USD, down 18 percent year on year, resulting in over 380 million USD in the first two months of 2021, a slight annual fall of 0.8 percent.

At the same time, seafood exports rose 31.4 percent to 264 million USD in January but dropped 21 percent to 156 million USD in February, resulting in the two-month export value of 420 million USD, up 5.5 percent.

The VASEP said that in the first two months of this year, exports of Vietnamese aquatic products were affected by demands of markets amidst COVID-19 pandemic.

The association forecast that aquatic export value in March will reach about 640 million USD, up 1.5 percent over the same period last year thanks to high demand in the US, EU and members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)./.

(VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnamese enterprises should take advantage of online marketing channels, re-arrange production and business orientations and strategies, and bring into full play advantages brought by free trade agreements if they want to achieve sustainable export growth , according to insiders.

Statistics of the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) shows that Vietnam’s import-export value reached 95.8 billion USD in the first two months of 2021, up 24.5 percent year-on-year. Of the total, exports were valued at 48.55 billion USD, up 23.2 percent, and imports 47.26 billion USD, up 25.9 percent.

During January-February, Vietnam enjoyed a trade surplus of 1.29 billion USD, down from the 1.8 billion USD seen in the same period last year. The domestic sector posted a trade deficit of 4.14 billion USD, while the FDI sector, including crude oil, saw a trade surplus of 5.43 billion USD.

At the Government’s February regular meeting, MoIT Minister Tran Tuan Anh set a target of 4-5 percent in export growth in 2021.

To that end, MoIT Deputy Minister Cao Quoc Hung said that the ministry is considering a new strategy on import-export activities in the coming time to be submitted to the Prime Minister for issuance.

In addition, the ministry will continue engaging in negotiations and perfecting relevant institutions on free trade agreements (FTAs), including issues related to the rule of origins so as to help business better optimize advantages of the agreements.

It will also consolidate and expand export markets, bring into full play opportunities brought about by existing FTAs, diversify import and export markets, diversify exported products, increase the competitiveness of exported products, and develop brands so as to achieve sustainable export development, Hung added./.

VNA

Hanoi (VNA) – Hanoi authorities have requested that the management board of local industrial parks (IPs) inspect all IPs and make appropriate development recommendations in line with the capital’s planning, Nguyen Manh Quyen, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee, has said.

Planning is the top priority that determines the effective development of these parks, he underscored.

The city is home to nine operating industrial parks (IPs), which together cover 1,369 ha and post an occupancy rate of 95 percent. There are also two other IPs undergoing infrastructure adjustments , four calling for investment, and one that has had its investment licence revoked.

IPs in the capital attracted a total of about 118.2 million USD in investment last year, fulfilling just 30 percent of the target and representing only 34 percent of the figure recorded in 2019.

2020 revenue amounted to 7.6 billion USD, an annual decline of 2 percent. In the first two months of 2021, they reeled in over 1.2 billion USD, and paid 35.5 million USD to the State budget.

According to Tran Anh Tuan, deputy head of the management board, the volume of investment has remained low and there are no large-scale or high-tech projects .

Insiders have attributed issues to a lack of attention to industrial development, overlapping inspections, and red tape, among other matters./.

VNA

Bangkok (VNA) – The Thai government has pledged to revitalise tourism, stimulate domestic spending , and spur exports and investment to help economic growth reach its 4-percent target this year, local media reported.

Deputy Prime Minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow said the government still maintains an economic growth target of 4 percent this year although various economic forecasting agencies have downgraded their outlook to only 2.7-3 percent growth.

The Fiscal Policy Office (FPO) recently slashed Thailand’s economic growth forecast to 2.8 percent this year, down from 4.5 percent in October 2020, while the Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking maintained its economic outlook at 1.5-3.5 percent, despite the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Supattanapong noted three factors, namely exports, domestic tourism and the government’s stimulus measures, will help speed up Thailand’s economic growth in the remaining 10 months.

The National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) in February upgraded its export growth forecast to 5.8 percent from 4.2 percent, despite downgrading its economic growth forecast for this year to 2.5-3.5 percent from 3.5-4.5 percent, mainly because of a fresh wave of COVID-19 infections.

Thailand’s exports, notably those bound for emerging markets, should be sped up, said Supattanapong, adding that the government also aims to stimulate domestic tourism as fast as possible to generate incomes for the country.

Domestic tourism revenue fell substantially to 600 billion baht (19.7 billion USD) in 2020, down from 1 trillion in 2019, because of the pandemic.

To boost domestic tourism, the Deputy PM said the Thai government looks set to implement additional stimulus measures to increase activities./.

VNA

Bangkok (VNA) – The Thai government on March 4 unveiled its “ area quarantine ” plan to open Thailand to foreign tourists from next month.

Minister of Tourism and Sports Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn revealed details of the plan after meeting with the Ministry of Public Health and 216 tourism operators.

Area quarantine will be piloted in five provinces popular with foreign tourists – Chiang Mai, Phuket, Krabi, Surat Thani (Koh Samui, Koh Pha-ngan) and Chon Buri (Pattaya). The plan will be operated via 29 travel agencies supervised by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).

Under the plan’s timeline, tourists will quarantine in their rooms for the first three days and then be swab-tested for COVID-19 at their hotels. If they test negative, they will be granted access to the whole hotel or resort until their 14-day quarantine ends. After 14 days they will be tested again. If no infection is found they will be allowed to travel freely through the quarantine area.

Thailand’s tourism has been hit hard by the pandemic. In 2019, the country hosted 39.9 million visitors who spent about 1.9 trillion baht (63 billion USD), or 11.3 percent of its GDP.

In 2020, the number of tourists to Thailand dropped to 6.7 million. The figure is projected to decrease further to 5 million in 2021, resulting in the spending of just 260 billion baht./.

VNA

Phnom Penh (VNA) – Cambodia exported around 1.56 million tonnes of non-rice agricultural products with sanitary and phyto-sanitary certificates in the first two months of 2021, a year-on-year surge of 55.3 percent, said Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Veng Sakhon.

Sakhon added the items were shipped to 25 different countries. Among the exports, the majority was dried cassava slices (802,451 tonnes), fresh cassava (154,750 tonnes), paddy (287,850 tonnes), cashew nuts (79,473 tonnes) and red corn (78,856 tonnes).

Meanwhile, Cambodia’s exports of milled rice in January-February were valued at 64.53 million USD and amounted to 76,222 tonnes, according to a report from the Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF).

This presented a decline of around 44.16 percent compared with the same period in 2020, triggered by a lack of containers and high cost of shipping by sea.

In February, milled rice exports increased by 22 percent to 41,949 tonnes destined for 35 countries.

In 2020, Cambodia exported 4.03 billion USD worth of agricultural products, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

The country shipped over 690,000 tonnes of milled rice abroad, primarily to China with nearly 290,000 tonnes. More than 2.8 million tonnes were exported to neighbouring countries, including Vietnam.

Cambodia also earned 459 million USD from the export of about 340,000 tonnes of rubber./.

VNA