The current ongoing economic fluctuation occurring worldwide is clearly affecting many export businesses in Vietnam in the last months of 2022 and is forecast to continue to affect throughout 2023.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade held the conference "Exporting to FTA markets - Solving the problem of sustainable development" on November 18 in Ho Chi Minh City. Many export enterprises in many fields and industries in Southern provinces and cities have raised the difficulties that need to be removed when entering export markets.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade, on November 18, held a seminar with the theme "Exporting to FTA markets - Solving the problem of sustainable development". More than 300 export enterprises in many sectors and industries in the South and enterprises from the EuroCham and AmCham attended the program.
Although capital from Foreign Direct Investment projects is essential for the growth of the economy, there are many who believe that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) projects are being favored much more than domestic enterprise projects.
Since the beginning of the new year, many enterprises have accelerated production to meet the delivery schedule. Along with that, units have been striving to connect with supply chains to increase the source of raw materials.
The signing of many free trade agreements (FTAs) with other countries has helped several Vietnamese goods, including agricultural and aquatic products, open their doors widely to the world. In the opposite direction, the domestic market has also been importing a large volume of agricultural and fishery products from foreign countries, especially countries with trade relationships with Vietnam, creating more product diversity and more choices for consumers.
Foreign investors still have high expectations for Vietnam's investment environment despite facing many difficulties at the moment due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Currently, there are still many solutions and ways to improve foreign investment attraction and prepare conditions to be ready to welcome the investment wave in the new normal.
How to avoid scams when signing investment agreements with foreign enterprises? Is there any way to make use of incentives from free trade agreements? These concerns of some enterprises are also common questions in the process of Vietnamese enterprises integrating into the global playground.
According to the latest information from authorities and enterprises, Vietnam's exports in many markets have been increasing. Agricultural and aquatic products, foodstuffs, electricity, electronics, and textiles remain the items with large export turnover.
Garment and textile export turnover in the first month of this year reached US$2.6 billion, up 3.3 percent over the same period last year. The garment and textile industry aims to achieve the target of $39 billion this year, so since the beginning of the year, many key export product lines of the industry have been changed by enterprises.
The 13th National Party Congress took place at the end of January 2021. It has determined the development goals in the next five and ten years with a vision to 2045, aiming at turning Vietnam into a developed country with high income. The will of the Party and the State is also the aspiration of each citizen. Therefore, striving for fast and sustainable growth to avoid moving backward further and overcoming the middle-income trap are critical issues, requiring the arousal of self-reliance and endogenous strength to achieve the set goals.
Up to now, Vietnam has joined 13 free trade agreements (FTAs). The FTAs have become the playgrounds, facilitating Vietnamese products' export to many major import markets.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and the People's Committee of Can Tho City, on the afternoon of January 13, at Trung An Agricultural High-Tech Joint Stock Company (Trung An Company), held a ceremony to export the first batch of rice in 2021 by Trung An Company to Singapore and Malaysia.
The Covid-19 pandemic has continued to obstruct trade activities of the leather and footwear industry in the main export markets of Vietnam, including Europe and the US. Last year, the whole industry exported US$19.5 billion, down 11.5 percent compared to 2019. Currently, Vietnam has controlled the pandemic, so many long-term orders have returned to enterprises. However, experts predict that the difficult situation will last until the end of this year.
According to Vietnamese trade counselors, in 2021, Vietnamese goods, in general, have a great opportunity to export to Europe, Northern Europe, the US, the Eurasian Economic Union, Japan, South Korea, and China.
Amid the context that Vietnam has joined a larger and harsher “playground”, such as the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), the more Vietnamese enterprises need to be protected and must take measures to protect themselves.
Up to 45.6 percent out of 6,500 enterprises participated in a survey said that the trend of production and business in the fourth quarter would be better. The export market will see booming purchasing power, which has been held back for a long time.
Despite the disruption of supply chains, Vietnam's gross domestic product (GDP) still rose by 3.68 percent in the first quarter. In the second quarter, the economy nosedived with the growth rate merely at 0.39 percent. In the third quarter, GDP growth recovered to 2.62 percent, sending the three-quarter growth rate to 2.12 percent.