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More drastic measures taken to support businesses to sustain export growth of agricultural products

April 14, 2021 by bizhub.vn

Tran Quoc Toan, deputy director of MoIT’s Import and Export Department. — Photo congthuong.vn

Viet Nam’s export of some agricultural products such as rice, aquatic products and fruits has experienced many challenges recently. The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) is taking many measures to fight against origin fraud to protect Viet Nam’s export industries from litigation risk arising from the evasion of trade remedies.

Vietnam News Agency spoke to Tran Quoc Toan, deputy director of the ministry’s Import and Export Department, about the challenges facing Vietnamese enterprises as well as State’s support on this matter.

In the first quarter, Viet Nam’s agricultural exports, including rice, benefited from rising prices but export volume decreased compared to the same period in 2020. What are the reasons and the direction for rice export in the future?

Facing many difficulties amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Viet Nam’s rice export achieved positive results. Although the export volume decreased, the turnover growth brought benefits to rice farmers.

Vietnamese rice exporters are increasingly focusing on improving quality, traceability and striving to meet the strict standards of demanding markets such as the EU, South Korea and the United States. This is one of the factors that have helped improve the competitiveness of Vietnamese rice.

Export data to a number of high-end markets in recent years have shown positive signals on the improvement of the quality of both rice and the enterprises themselves.

Viet Nam’s rice export structure has been gradually shifting to high value-added rice such as fragrant rice, accounting for 27.15 per cent of the total export volume; japonica rice, 3.39 per cent; sticky rice, 9.26 per cent.

The current average export price has ensured farmers’ profits when compared with the average cost of paddy planned for the winter-spring crop 2020-21. In addition, Viet Nam has signed many free trade agreements (FTAs) with many strategic countries that have helped the Vietnamese rice brand become better known, expand markets for high-end rice and specialty rice at higher prices, contributing to the increase in export value for Vietnamese rice.

In order to boost rice export in the future, the MoIT will increase coordination with other ministries and the Viet Nam Food Association to support businesses to implement FTAs ​​effectively.

The ministry will continue regular coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, which is leading the rice industry restructuring process and take drastic and comprehensive measures to improve the value and quality of Vietnamese rice, building and developing Vietnamese rice brand.

Besides the support from State management agencies, businesses need to actively prepare plans to strengthen their capacity, source of goods and improve competitiveness through building long-term and disciplined strategies to strictly comply with regulations on traceability, build and protect brands towards sustainable exports.

It is also necessary to proactively develop cooperation and linkage to enhance strength, create supply chains and prepare measures to deal with trade remedies and lawsuits through monitoring market and price developments.

Recently, many seafood and fruit products are facing challenges to maintain and expand in key markets, including the United States. What solutions has the ministry prepared to support businesses?

Vegetables and fruits have enjoyed impressive export growth for many years with an average growth rate of 14.1 per cent during 2016-20.

However, due to the adverse impacts of COVID-19, export value of this sector reached only US$3.3 billion in 2020, down 12.7 per cent year-on-year. In the first quarter of this year, the export turnover reached $944 million, up 6.1 per cent year-on-year.

The United States is the second largest export market with a market share of about 4-5 per cent of Viet Nam’s total fruit and vegetable export turnover. The export growth averaged 24.4 per cent in the last five years.

In 2020, despite the pandemic, vegetables and fruits shipped to the United States fetched $168.8 million, maintaining a growth rate of 12.5 per cent, of which, fruit export was $72.9 million, down by 8.5 per cent year-on-year. In the first two months of 2021, the export of vegetables and fruits to the US reached $23.4 million, up 3.7 per cent, accounting for 4.2 per cent of the export turnover of the whole industry.

To date, six types of fresh fruits from Viet Nam have been allowed to be shipped to the US, including dragon fruit, longans, lychees, rambutans, star apples and mangos. However, the amount of export is insignificant because of high costs such as transport, storage, quarantine and irradiation treatment which make them less competitive than from other countries that geographically nearer.

The export of processed fruits and vegetables has seen positive growth due to the change in demand and taste of consumers. This type of products with the advantage of long storage time prevails in the pandemic.

For seafood products, the export turnover in 2020 reached $8.4 billion, a decrease of 1.5 per cent year-on-year, of which exports to the US increased the most, reaching more than $1.6 billion, up 10 per cent thanks to sharp increase of 33 per cent in shrimp exports. In the first two months, seafood exports to this market continued to rise by 5.4 per cent year-on-year, reaching over $189 million.

Currently, the demand for seafood imports of the US market is recovering. The structure of products has also changed amid the pandemic. Therefore, the product segment serving retail channels, home consumption with high convenience such as ready-to-eat, instant food, dry food and canned food with reasonable prices is and will have more room to grow in the US this year.

In addition, the high rise in shipping rates and the lack of empty containers for packing in the past few months have also directly impacted seafood export activities.

According to the Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), by the end of 2020, foreign shipping lines increased freight by two to three times, even six to seven times in some sectors but enterprises were still unable to arrange vessels and containers for export. Enterprises supplying seafood materials from abroad also could not book vessels to ship raw materials to Viet Nam.

In order to support businesses to overcome difficulties, maintain and promote the export of agricultural products, especially to the US market, the ministry is taking many measures to fight against origin fraud to protect Viet Nam’s export industry from litigation risk arising from the evasion of trade remedies..

The ministry will update the situation on prices and markets to promptly notify and guide associations, enterprises and production establishments to organise their production plans.

Also it will proactively update the application of trade protection measures, promptly inform relevant agencies and businesses, and effectively fight against unreasonable technical barriers from the US market for agricultural products, including Vietnamese seafood and fruits.

In addition, the ministry will continue coordinating with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to accelerate the negotiation of the technical market to expand the list of Vietnamese goods/enterprises permitted to export to the United States, as well as carry out effective and suitable export promotion programmes for agricultural products.

Regarding the rising freight charges, the ministry has reported to the Prime Minister and will continue working closely with the Vietnam Logistics Business Association and other relevant industry associations to facilitate the distribution and balanced use of container rotation. — VNS

Filed Under: Business Insight agricultural products, Viet Nam’s export industrie, Business Insight, agricultural..., exports of agricultural products, agriculture export business in india, agriculture export business, measures to increase agricultural productivity, sustainable agriculture production, export of agricultural products, Agricultural Products Export

Despite growing demand in Ho Chi Minh City, supply of affordable apartments flatlines

April 14, 2021 by tuoitrenews.vn

Ho Chi Minh City has seen a nominal number of new affordable housing projects in the past five years, which has greatly frustrated the road to homeownership of the city’s up-and-coming young workforce.

As per Vietnamese law, social housing is put under strict regulations, where hopeful buyers must meet a score of criteria to become eligible for purchase.

Members of the general public are resting their best hopes on privately-developed affordable housing projects, yet the category is finding itself in a tight corner of the market, catching little interest from developers.

Fizzling supply

After the housing bust that haunted the domestic market from 2009 to 2013, Ho Chi Minh City and the surrounding locales observed a surge of housing projects from low- to mid-tier range, as 78 percent of the new housing projects in the area in 2017 were classified as B- or C-tier, according to a report from the real estate firm DKRA.

As per Vietnam’s Circular 31/2016, qualified apartment buildings are ranked in three tiers, with A signifies the highest standard, B the midpoint, and C the lowest possible, often associated with affordable housing projects.

However, in their report on the Ho Chi Minh City housing market in the third quarter of 2018, DKRA pointed out that supply of new C-tier apartments shrank to two percent.

By 2020, these numbers had almost gone to zero, while new high-priced units had dominated the market with 69 percent, the consulting firm said.

Meanwhile, the cost for the supposedly affordable housing units is rising over the typical workers’ heads, with the rate for an average C-tier unit going from VND16 million (US$700) per square meter to more than double that figure last year, which means a 15-20 percent increase per annum.

In the first three months of 2021, high- and mid-priced apartments were still seen taking over the market, while supply of affordable units remained scarce.

Buyers on a budget in Ho Chi Minh City are having a hard time finding listings at the price below VND35 million ($1,516) per square meter, as apartments in neighboring Binh Duong and Dong Nai Provinces have already soared to VND33-45 million ($1,429-1,949) per square meter.

A recent research of the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association also confirmed the dominance of high-end housing projects, which covered 70 percent of the market, while mid-tier developments accounted for 25 percent.

Meanwhile, affordable housing only makes up one percent, or 163 projects, out of all housing projects in Ho Chi Minh City and surrounding areas that called for investments in 2020.

This proves an indication of the imbalanced development of the local real estate sector, which bodes a dubious future of unsustainability.

A house of 36 square meters wide that accommodates 10 people in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

An apartment of 36 square meters in area accommodates 10 people in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

The great hunt for homes

For the time being, the interest rate for private home loans, with no favorable conditions applied, floats at 10-11 percent per year.

At this rate, a loan of VND1 billion ($43,332) over a 10-year term would require VND200 million ($8,664) in compound interest per year.

In case of a future hike in interest rates, the total interest to be paid in 10 years could easily equate, even surpassing the initial loan amount.

Duc Minh, a father in Tan Phu District of Ho Chi Minh City, said a loan like above would require the combined income of his and his wife’s to reach at least VND30 million ($1,308) per month, as he still has to pay for food, schooling bills for his children, as well as saving for unexpected events.

“This is why we’ve been on the fence [about taking out the loan,] while the housing price is still skyrocketing,’ he said.

According to Minh, an apartment of 60 square meters in the outlying districts of Ho Chi Minh City would cost at least VND2 billion ($86,664), which is totally out of his financial capacity at this moment.

Khoi, a resident of Thu Duc City under Ho Chi Minh City, said he is scrambling to find an apartment in suburban districts with his budget of VND1.5 billion ($65,000).

“I feel like entering an unfair race between homebuyers and the market price. The rate always rises two or three times faster than I can save,” he stated.

Khoi attributed the phenomenon to the swing investors, who cram sales opening events of housing projects to buy and pump the price up, which will drive people with actual demands to find a place to leave the game.

Construction site of an apartment building project in Thu Duc City under Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

The construction site of an apartment building project in Thu Duc City under Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

Manufactured hype

Last year’s skyrocketing cost of housing in Ho Chi Minh City can be accredited to developers’ choice to create supply scarcity, as well as a high demand for housing as investment property, which took up as much as 70-80 percent of units in new apartment projects.

On top of that, accompanying fees for land and legal procedures have pushed up real estate prices in the southern city, said Su Ngoc Khuong, senior director of investment at the real estate firm Savills.

Over the past three years, a real estate upswing in the southern metropolis has been recorded every year after the Lunar New Year holiday, which usually takes place in late January or early February.

“It’s just manufactured hype, as realistic transactions are very low,” said Pham Lam, deputy president of the Vietnam Association of Realtors.

“Real estate brokers are complaining as they have been facing struggles to sell for months.”

Regarding the recent real estate fevers, Lam pointed out that they all stem from insider reports of new master plans for development, which could drive prices of local land through the roof.

However, these information sources are usually manipulated by a powerful few, who seek to profit from the market mania on which they have the upper hand.

Lam also pointed out growth in idle money among Ho Chi Minh City citizens, as well as high hopes among speculators for the real estate market in a period of economic recovery, as reasons for the housing boom.

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Vietnam Life - Despite growing demand in Ho Chi Minh City, supply of affordable apartments flatlines, TTNTAG real estate, TTNTAG Ho Chi Minh City, TTNTAG..., vien dong hotel ho chi minh city, introduce ho chi minh city, markets ho chi minh city, apartment rental ho chi minh city, reunification palace ho chi minh city, reunification palace ho chi minh city vietnam, war remnants museum ho chi minh city, tour in ho chi minh city, tour in ho chi minh city vietnam, sightseeing ho chi minh city, airbnb ho chi minh city, map of ho chi minh city

Switzerland helps Vietnam with institutional strengthening for sustainable urban development

April 14, 2021 by en.qdnd.vn

The Ministry of Construction in coordination with the UN Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat) and SECO organized a workshop on April 13 to launch the project.

According to Dr. Nguyen Quang, UN-Habitat Program Manager in Vietnam, of the total funding for the 2020-2025 project, 3.8 million CHF will be managed by UN-Habitat while 450,000 CHF will be under the management of SECO.

The main goal of the project is to strengthen the capacity of national and local institutions to promote, plan, and implement innovative and participatory solutions for sustainable urban development in Vietnam.

The project will be implemented over a period of five years by UN-Habitat in close coordination with the Ministry of Construction, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, and city governments.

Marcel Reymond, head of Development Cooperation at the Embassy of Switzerland in Vietnam, said Vietnam’s socio-economic growth will only be maintained if there are measures to enhance the economic potential and competitiveness of urban areas and to improve the living standards of urban residents.

He expressed his belief that the project will bring about great socio-economic and environmental benefits, thus facilitating the transformation of sustainable development models in Vietnamese cities.

Vietnam is among countries with the most rapid urbanization rates in Southeast Asia, with the number of urban areas jumping from 480 to 830 between 1986 and 2019.

Source: VNA

Filed Under: Uncategorized Institute of Sustainable Development, sustainable urban development, international institute for sustainable development, International Institute of Sustainable Development, Sustainable Development in Vietnam, sustainable urban development jobs, sustainable urban development masters, sustainable development institute, Sustainable Development Policy Institute

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