Tourism project proposal

More and more Vietnamese fruits are exported to the world. From dragon fruit, rambutan, star apple, and lychee to mango, all have been available in many countries. Despite the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on the supply chain, Vietnamese fruit and vegetable products will maintain the export recovery momentum this year, especially fruits.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), in the first quarter of this year, fruit and vegetable exports nearly touched US$950 million, up 6.1 percent over the same period last year. Last year, when the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) became effective from the beginning of August, in September, Ben Tre Province exported the first batch of fruits to Europe, including 20,000 fresh coconuts, 12 tons of green-skinned pomelos, and 3 tons of dragon fruits. In 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the export of fruits and vegetables decreased, but the value still reached $3.26 billion, showing the importance of this potential commodity.

Ms. Mai Thi Hong, Vietnam Coordinator of the Netherlands Vietnam Horti Business Platform, said that 15 types of Vietnamese fruits that are favored by the EU include dragon fruit, mango, pomelo, rambutan, mangosteen, jackfruit, durian, star apple, and coconut.

In the Mekong Delta, the area of fruit trees has continuously increased. In 2010, the area of fruit trees was 287,000 hectares. By 2020, it rose to 377,000 hectares. However, the long-standing shortcoming of fruits is that the processing stage remains weak.

Dr. Nguyen Quoc Toan, Director of the Agro Product Processing and Market Development Authority under the MARD, noted that the weakness of Vietnamese agricultural products is that the post-harvest loss is still high, depending on the sector but ranging from 10 percent to 25 percent, and the method of preservation is simple and outdated. Logistics remains weak, especially means of transport, storage, and cold storage. Meanwhile, there are a small number of deep-processed products.

The breakthrough from preservation and processing

Nearly 10 years ago, Mr. Pham Tien Hoai, General Director of Hanh Nguyen Logistics, acknowledged the strength of the fruit tree growing areas in the Mekong Delta and invested in many processing factories in Hau Giang Province.

According to Mr. Hoai, logistics costs in Vietnam’s agricultural product industry currently account for about 30 percent of product costs, while this figure in Thailand is only 12.5 percent, and the global average is 14 percent. The reason is that the distribution channel from fruit production to fruit export in the Mekong Delta has to go through several intermediaries.

Cau Duc Pineapple in Hau Giang Province is a well-known brand name. However, pineapples have to go through many stages. Farmers buy seeds and materials to grow pineapple plants in their fields. After harvesting, they must transport pineapples to fruit barns to sort and pack, then transport them to the processing factories. Here, they will continue to sort, wash, pack, and apply irradiation treatment on pineapples. After that, pineapples will be stored in warehouses or exported by sea or air; or exported to China through cross-border trade, Mr. Pham Tien Hoai cited.

This is the reason why fruits in the region fall into the situation of bumper crops, low prices at the peak of harvest. For a long time, fruits of the Mekong Delta have suffered double disadvantages because they have to go through many intermediaries, and it takes more time to transport them to Ho Chi Minh City for irradiation before exporting. However, the situation has been improving as many enterprises have invested deeply in the stage of processing and exporting fruits in the Mekong Delta.

For instance, the Hanh Nguyen Logistics Center located in Hau Giang Province was put into operation at the end of last year. This center has an automated warehouse with a capacity of 150,000 tons and 200 kiosks to facilitate 200 traders to open an agricultural product trading floor in the region.

Especially, the center also has an irradiator for fruits to have a “passport” for export to many countries. For a long time, for mangoes, after harvesting, within 3-4 days, farmers have to sell them urgently because they will rot. The pressure to close the deal is limited within 7-10 days.

With the appearance of Hanh Nguyen logistics center, Mr. Pham Tien Hoai hopes that the company will help farmers to select, wash, classify, pack, irradiate, and store mangoes in cool storage with the most appropriate temperature. Mangoes will have an extended shelf life of up to 90 days. During this period, farmers will have the right to negotiate prices fairly and transparently.

Mr. Le Minh Hoan, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that processing is one of the important stages in the value chain of the industry. Currently, we only have about 20-30 percent of agricultural products processed for export. Vietnam’s agricultural sector needs to pay attention to the processing stage. Processed products will solve the situation of oversupply, help to create added value, bring the development of agricultural products into the law of supply and demand.

According to Mr. Nguyen Duc Ninh, Director of the National Load Dispatch Center, currently, renewable energy tends to explode in our country. In 2019, about 5,000 megawatts (MWs) of solar power connected to the national grid. By 2020, there were nearly 5,000 MWs of grid-connected solar power and about 7,000-8,000 MWs of rooftop solar power. Mr. Nguyen Duc Ninh forecasted that from now to the end of 2021, about 4,000-5,000 MWs of wind power would go online.

Meanwhile, the demand for electrical loads this year is forecast to remain as low as last year due to the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. Last year, the load growth was only over 3 percent, much lower than the plan. In the first four months of this year, the load growth was only 5-7 percent, much lower than the same period of previous years. Mr. Nguyen Duc Ninh admitted that this situation makes the operation of the national power grid more difficult this year if the output of renewable energy is not controlled and reduced.

“To meet the maximum capacity for the renewable energy power system, currently, during operating hours at noon, especially from around 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., we are operating the system by halting most of the hydroelectric plants in the Central and Southern regions where there are many renewable energy projects,” said Mr. Ninh.

However, according to the Director of the National Load Dispatch Center, the closure of hydropower plants is not simple because it must comply with the provisions of 11 inter-reservoir operation processes approved by the Prime Minister, including regulations on minimum generation capacity and minimum discharge flow, to ensure sufficient water supply for the downstream regions in the dry season.

Therefore, to remove difficulties for hydropower plants, EVN plans to cut about 1.7 billion kWh of wind and solar power this year. From the beginning of the year to now, the output of renewable energy that must the cut is about 450 million kWh, accounting for about 7-9 percent of the output of renewable energy, mainly solar power. Mr. Nguyen Duc Ninh said that this reduction is necessary.

Two Deputy Ministers of Health will go to Japan and Russia to receive the transfer of vaccine technology from foreign partners, according to the Government’s monthly press conference on May 5.

Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Finance Group (SMFG) outlaid 1.37 billion USD for 49 percent of FE Credit. Illustrative image

Hanoi – Despite a year-on-year slip in foreign direct investment (FDI) to Vietnam in the first four months of the year, foreign investors still signed major deals in the country and confirmed its ongoing investment appeal.

In early April, the SK Group of the Republic of Korea announced the signing of an agreement with the Masan Group Corporation to acquire a 16.26 percent stake in VinCommerce, a Masan subsidiary, for a cash consideration of 410 million USD.

Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Finance Group (SMFG) then outlaid 1.37 billion USD for 49 percent of FE Credit.

The two deals warmed up Vietnam’s merger and acquisition (M&A) market, confirming that it is still attractive and that investors are still seeking valuable deals.

In the first four months of the year, FDI in Vietnam was not far below the figure in the same period last year thanks to major projects being signed, including a 3.1 billion USD gas-fuelled power plant in Long An province, the 1.31 billion USD O Mon II thermal power project in Can Tho city, and the adding of 750 million USD to the LG Display project in Hai Phong city.

Vietnam attracted a total of 12.25 billion USD worth of FDI in the period, equal to 99.3 percent of the figure in the same period last year, including 8.5 billion USD going to new projects.

According to Nakajima Takeo, Chief Representative of the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) in Hanoi, its survey on business trends showed that the majority of enterprises believe it will be difficult to expand production and business in the next one or two years but still consider Vietnam to be a leading investment destination among ASEAN member countries.

Meanwhile, a recent survey by EuroCham revealed that European firms in Vietnam are confident about recovery in the country, with its Business Climate Index (BCI) hitting 73.9 points.

When asked about the prospects of Vietnam’s business environment in the next quarter, 67 percent predicted either “excellent” or “good” – a 12 percent increase compared to the previous quarter.

Meanwhile, business leaders are also more optimistic about their own companies. More than two-thirds (68 percent) predict that orders and revenue will remain steady or increase over the next three months, which is a 25 percent increase compared to the fourth quarter of 2020.

EuroCham President Alain Cany attributed the results to European firms’ confidence in the Vietnamese market, where business has not been greatly interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, amid fierce competition from other countries in FDI attraction, experts said that Vietnam should work harder to win favour.

Amcham Vice Chairman John Rockhold said that the country should consider non-carbon facilitation, while Nguyen Hai Minh, Vice President of EuroCham, held that it needs more high-tech human resources to meet investor needs.