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Tag: import

  • Another gloomy year forecast for tuna exports

    Another gloomy year forecast for tuna exports

    Vietnam’s tuna exports declined by 9.8 percent in 2020 due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, and are showing no signs of recovery.

    Analysts point to two reasons for the continuing slump: the unpredictability surrounding the pandemic and intense competition from low-priced Chinese canned tuna in its largest market, the U.S.

    Besides, consumers prefer tuna with the blue MSC label representing certification of the sustainable fishery by the Marine Stewardship Council.

    Tuna exports were worth $649 million last year, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers. Vietnam exports the fish to 108 markets.

    Vietnam’s largest markets after the U.S. are the E.U., Canada, Southeast Asia, and Israel.

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  • US doubles purchase of Vietnamese mangoes

    US doubles purchase of Vietnamese mangoes

    The U.S. has imported double the quantity of Vietnamese mangoes in Jan-August 2020, showing potential for further growth in this market.

    The value of mango imports rose 99.9 percent year-on-year to $2.79 million, according to a report by the Agency of Foreign Trade under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, citing U.S. official figures.

    The average import price was $2,064.8 per tonne, up 6.7 percent year-on-year. Most of the imports were of fresh and frozen fruit.

    In terms of volume, Vietnam was the 12th largest mango import market for the U.S. in the said period, accounting for 0.3 percent of the total.

    The Agency of Foreign Trade said the large demand for mango, especially fresh fruit, in the U.S. is an opportunity for Vietnamese companies to expand.

    However, they need to ensure all strict standards on farming, packaging, and origin tracing are met, it added.

    Vietnam exported its first batch of mango to the U.S. in April last year.

    The surge in Vietnam’s mango exports to the U.S. is a rare bright spot in the nation’s plunging fruits exports scenario, primarily as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

    In the first nine months, fruit export value fell 19.1 percent year-on-year to $1.7 billion, with shipment figures of lychees, durians, and bananas plummeting, the agency said.

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  • Vietnam suspects $4.3 bln worth of aluminum imported for origin fraud

    Vietnam suspects $4.3 bln worth of aluminum imported for origin fraud

    Vietnamese authorities suspect $4.3 billion worth of aluminum has been imported with the intent of being exported to the U.S. relabeled as made-in-Vietnam products.

    Vietnam Customs recently discovered signs of origin fraud in 1.8 million tons of aluminum imported by Global Vietnam Aluminum Ltd in the central Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province.

    General Director of Customs Nguyen Van Can say at a press briefing Monday that although the company has a production chain to produce aluminum bars, it was still importing billions of dollars worth of the same products from China and other countries, possibly because it wants to gain from the different duties the U.S. imposed on them.

    The U.S. imposes a duty of 15 percent on Vietnamese aluminum, but up to 374 percent on Chinese aluminum.

    Apart from China, the company also imported aluminum from Mexico, Australia and Russia to be exported to Canada, the U.S., Egypt and India.

    However, data from Vietnam Customs show that although the company has been importing 488,000 tons a year since 2015, the volume of its exports is only 80,000 tons or 16.3 percent of imports.

    For this reason, the 1.8 million tons of aluminum remain in the company’s storage space and is being closely surveilled by Vietnam Customs.

    Vietnamese authorities are increasing scrutiny on product origins and tightening issuance of a certificate of origin for exports as part of efforts to stop trade fraud, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry Tran Quoc Khanh said in July.

    Vietnam recorded a trade surplus of $37.9 billion with the U.S. from January to October, up 33.4 percent year-on-year, according to the General Statistics Office.

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  • Laos, Cambodia imports can threaten Vietnam auto industry

    Laos, Cambodia imports can threaten Vietnam auto industry

    Even weaker economies with less developed industries can threaten Vietnam’s auto industry due to its low localization rate, the Trade Ministry said.

    While the domestic auto industry is already facing fierce competition from car imports, mostly from Thailand and Indonesia, other ASEAN economies are emerging threats, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said in a recent report to the National Assembly.

    From January to September, sales of imported cars rose 150 percent year-on-year to nearly 93,600, while that of locally-assembled vehicles dropped 13 percent to 136,800 units, according to the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (VAMA).

    “Auto imports will continue to rise because of surging domestic demand, severely affecting domestic auto manufacturing and our trade balance,” the ministry reported.

    As Vietnam has scrapped imports tariffs on cars made in ASEAN countries with a localization rate of at least 40 percent since last year, the domestic market will have to deal with additional competition from Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar.

    Vietnam’s car businesses have only participated in low-value segment of the supply chain and has not mastered core technology in producing engines and transmission systems, it noted further.

    The lack of material suppliers and large-scale parts producers leads to higher prices compared to imported cars, the ministry added.

    Cars with nine seaters or under have a localization rate of only 7-10 percent, compared to a 60 percent target that had been set for 2010. In ASEAN countries, the rate is around 65-70 percent, and in Thailand it is 80 percent.

    “Without a solution to increase localization rate, domestic manufacturers will face challenges in competing with the region.”

    Policies related to the auto industry are slow in coming, compared to other countries in the region, and Vietnam loses opportunities to attract investment as a result. The policies are also not stable and synchronized, therefore the industry is yet to make a breakthrough, it said.

    With rising competition from ASEAN and the E.U. because of trade pacts that Vietnam has signed, the ministry is considering scrapping special consumption tax on auto parts produced locally for 5-10 years.

    It also suggested tax incentives for electric cars, for both manufacturers and buyers.

    There are about 40 auto businesses in the country with the capacity of assembling and producing 680,000 vehicles a year. Production of 9-seater or under cars is growing by 20-30 percent annually.

    The trade ministry forecasts that Vietnam will surpass the Philippines in manufacturing and sales figures next year.

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  • Vietnam Car imports plummet in August

    Vietnam Car imports plummet in August

    Vietnam imported around 9,000 completely built-up cars in August, down from the average of 12,500 in the previous seven months.

    The imports cost $174 million, according to the General Statistics Office.

    Imports dropped sharply in August because it coincides with the seventh lunar month, traditionally called the “ghost month” in which locals avoid buying new things to avoid bad luck, said car dealerships.

    Vietnam imported over 96,000 CBU units worth a total of $2.1 billion in the first eight months of this year.

    This represents an increase of 320 percent in volume and 300 percent in value from the same period last year, when the government issued a decree with tougher conditions, requiring importers to provide certain certificates to ensure quality and countries of origin.

    Vietnam imported 72,650 cars last year, down nearly 20 percent over 2017, according to Vietnam Customs. But their value exceeded $1.64 billion, up 21 percent.

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  • Imported car sales soar despite efforts to tighten imports

    Imported car sales soar despite efforts to tighten imports

    Consumption of imported cars has skyrocketed while that of locally-assembled ones is falling despite efforts last year to tighten imports.

    From January to August, sales of imported cars rose 178 percent year-on-year to 82,800 units, while that of locally-assembled vehicles dropped 14 percent to 119,700 units, according to the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (VAMA).

    The number of imported vehicles with nine seats or less in the period almost quadrupled to over 71,000, according to Vietnam Customs.

    However, the high increase in imports this year has to do with a plunge last year because of a government decree that introduced tougher conditions for car importers, requiring them to provide certain certificates to ensure quality and countries of origin. This had led to a decline of 20 percent from 2017.

    Imports started to regain traction in the second half of last year when businesses were able to meet those requirements.

    Vietnam is considering removing special consumption tax on car parts produced locally to boost local manufacturing. Some businesses are shifting their production of high-demand vehicles to the country.

    As Vietnam sees rising demand among people to switch from motorbikes to cars alongside an increase in the country’s per capita income, annual car sales could more than triple in the next five years to reach a million in 2025, according to the Ministry of Finance.

    Vietnam imported 95,900 automobiles in January-August, up 3.2 times year-on-year, 86 percent of these from Thailand and Indonesia, according to Vietnam Customs.

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  • Trump’s threat could lead to higher Apple iPhone prices

    Trump’s threat could lead to higher Apple iPhone prices

    If you live in the U.S., be prepared to pay more for the Apple iPhone. A multi-part tweet disseminated today by President Donald Trump revealed that starting next Friday, $200 billion of Chinese goods imported into the U.S. will be taxed at a 25% rate, up from the current 10%. Trump also noted that $50 billion of hi-tech goods from China that are imported by the U.S. already are taxed at 25%. While the Apple iPhone and other Apple devices have managed to evade the tariff charges, Trump is now talking about taxing hundreds of billions of dollars of additional Chinese products imported into the states, possibly including the iPhone. While Apple designs its products in the U.S., they are assembled by contract manufacturers in China and imported into the U.S.

    Trump could be merely seeking to raise the pressure on China to reach an agreement with the U.S. A negotiating team from the country will travel to Washington this week for a round of talks. This could be the last chance for both nations to reach an agreement and end a trade war that has weakened China’s economy. That weakness has hurt Apple’s business in the country. During the company’s fiscal second quarter, which ran from January through March, Apple saw its sales in China declined by 21.5% from $13.02 billion to $10.22 billion.

    The trade war between the U.S. and China went into high gear last March when the president announced a 25% tariff on $50 billion of Chinese tech products sent to the states. A couple of weeks later, the Chinese retaliated by adding a tax on 128 products imported from the U.S. The Times reported last summer that Trump had told Apple CEO Tim Cook that he would not place a tariff on the iPhone (he uses two of them, one for tweeting), although that report was later denied by the White House.

    So why has Trump decided to engage in a trade war with China? The U.S. has run a large trade deficit with China for years, and while many economists will say that this shows that U.S. consumers are wealthier than their Chinese counterparts and can afford to purchase more goods from that country, the president sees it differently. He views the trade deficit as a scoreboard showing that the U.S. is losing when it comes to trade with China.

    The president also could be losing patience with Apple CEO Tim Apple Cook. Trump has said numerous times that Apple needs to move the production of its products to the U.S., and tweeted last September that Apple could avoid tariffs by moving jobs to the U.S. And in a bizarre episode that has never been explained, back in June of 2017 the president said that he was told by Tim Cook that Apple would build “three big plants, beautiful plants” in the U.S.The president said at the time that he couldn’t say where the factories would be located, or what they would produce. There was a good reason for that; Apple denied that this conversation ever happened. But to illustrate how the president thinks, he had previously told that he wanted Apple to build its best factory in the states “even if it’s only a foot bigger than someplace in China.”

    While the U.S. has been pressing China to buy more American made goods, it also wants the country to stop demanding U.S. trade secrets and technology as a condition for doing business in China. And while there is no doubt that Trump sees the tariffs as a way to twist the arm of Chinese president Xi Jinping, the data indicates that Americans are being hurt by the price hikes being passed on to them because of the tariffs. And if the iPhone ends up on the list of products getting taxed, U.S. consumers will end up paying more for the device. How much more would depend on how much of a tariff Apple would decide to eat.

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  • Low-cost imports challenge Furniture Retailers

    Low-cost imports challenge Furniture Retailers

    The furniture retailing industry may face a tough trading environment in 2019-20 with revenue expected to decline by 3.3 per cent during the period, according to IBISWorld analysts.

    Mounting internal and external competition is expected to continue to threaten the viability of furniture operators in the current year, with revenue expected to decline to $890.0 million as the industry continues to struggle with a challenging operating environment.

    Bao Vuong, IBISWorld senior industry analyst, said the rising volume of low-cost furniture imported into New Zealand is also forecast to hinder the industry’s performance in the current year.

    “The availability of low-cost furniture imports is projected to heighten industry competition,” Vuong said.

    Industry revenue is also likely to be suppressed by slower growth in residential building construction, which will reduce retail demand for furniture items.

    An IBISWorld furniture retailing industry report last year showed it has faced a tough trading environment over the past five years, with revenue growth stifled by increasing competition.

    Within the industry, players typically compete on the basis of price and product range.

    External competition comes from a range of other operators that sell furniture as part of their operations, including department stores, auction websites and online-only players.

    In the next five years through 2023-24, IBISWorld analysts forecast the furniture retailing industry to be operating within a challenging environment .

    “Mounting internal and external competition is projected to continue threatening the viability of operators over the period,” analysts said.

    The report also showed softer real household discretionary income growth could hinder retail demand for furniture products during the period.

  • Vinomofo partners with US wine Startup

    Vinomofo partners with US wine Startup

    Online wine retailer Vinomofo has partnered with US wine media mogul Gary Vaynerchuk to bring the inaugural wine from his label, Empathy Wines, to its customers in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore.

    The wine, which Vinomofo is launching this month, is available exclusively for pre-order from the online retailer.

    Vinomofo co-founder and CEO Justin Dry said the partnership was fitting, since Vaynerchuk’s approach to the industry aligns perfectly with Vinomofo’s mission to offer great wine at the right price.

    “The inclusion of Empathy Wines is an exciting one for us,” Dry said in a statement.

    “It strengthens our offering as well as supporting Californian winemakers who’ve been devastated by fires recently and cements our commitment to bringing really cool wines to our wine lovers.”

    This is just the first step in a bigger effort to introduce more wine from overseas to Vinomofo’s customers in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, Dry told. 

    “We’re currently buying for our second container – after filling the first one with Gary Vee’s Empathy Wines Rosé – so look out for some super cool wines by iconic US winemakers like André Hueston Mack hitting our shores in 2019,” he said.Adtech Ad

    But there is still no word on when Vinomofo will officially launch in the US market, which it had previously planned to do in 2018.

    “We have some very exciting things happening in the background at Vinomofo. We will share these with you as soon as we can,” Dry said.

    “In the meantime, we are super excited to be forming this partnership and can’t wait for what’s ahead.”

    Gary Vaynerchuk, also known as Gary Vee, took his parents’ liquor business in the US, Shopper’s Discount Liquors, online in 2006, and started Wine Library TV, a daily webcast covering wine.

    He later started a digital ad agency, which provided social media and strategy services to several Fortune 500 companies, including Anheuser-Busch, Mondelez and PepsiCo.

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  • Vietnam’s Q1 coffee exports down 15.3 percent on-year

    Vietnam’s Q1 coffee exports down 15.3 percent on-year

    Vietnam’s coffee exports in Q1 are expected to fall 15.3 percent from a year earlier to 477,000 tonnes, government data showed Friday.

    Coffee

    Coffee exports from Vietnam will likely fall an estimated 15.3 percent in the first quarter of this year from a year earlier to 477,000 tonnes, equal to 7.95 million 60-kg bags, the General Statistics Office said in a report on Friday.

    Coffee export revenue for Vietnam, the world’s biggest producer of the robusta bean, will likely decline 23.8 percent to $830 million in the three-month period, the report said.

    The country’s coffee shipments in March are estimated at 160,000 tonnes valued at $278 million, it said.

    Rice

    Rice exports in the first quarter from Vietnam were forecast to fall 11.5 percent from a year earlier to 1.31 million tonnes.

    Revenue from rice exports in the period was expected to drop 23.6 percent to $567 million.

    March rice exports from Vietnam, the world’s third-largest shipper of the grain, totalled 600,000 tonnes, worth $256 million.

    Energy

    Vietnam’s first-quarter crude oil exports were seen rising 7.7 percent from the same period last year to an estimated 1.07 million tonnes.

    Crude oil export revenue in January to March is expected to fall 3.5 percent to $507 million.

    Oil product imports in the first quarter were estimated at 2.0 million tonnes, falling 42.6 percent from the same period last year, while the value of product imports fell 47.6 percent to $1.17 billion.

    Vietnam’s January to March liquefied petroleum gas imports were seen falling 7.9 percent from a year earlier to 349,000 tonnes.

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  • Select Vietnamese sellers to get Amazon training support

    Select Vietnamese sellers to get Amazon training support

    100 selected Vietnamese businesses will participate in a support program to help them reach more customers on Amazon. These businesses will receive offline or online training, with in-depth support from Amazon and discounts from local service providers, according to a statement jointly released Wednesday by the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade) under the Ministry of Finance and Amazon Global Selling.

    The program aims to help local businesses, especially in handicraft, textile, footwear and consumer goods, improve their export capabilities through selling on Amazon.

    They will also have the opportunity to participate in the second stage of the program, which will help them develop their brands.

    Other sellers who are interested can also join an online training program starting next month to get equipped with the basic knowledge of selling on Amazon.

    Bernard Tay, Amazon’s regional director for Southeast Asia, said that the young, tech savvy population in Vietnam and strong development of the manufacturing sector generate great e-commerce potential in the country.

    However, a lack of knowledge and experience prevents them from reaching out to the global market, he said.

    Vu Ba Phu, director of Vietrade, said that the support program will open up new potentials for local companies in expanding their businesses internationally.

    There are 300 million Amazon accounts in 185 countries and territories at present. Amazon also has 175 fulfillment centers worldwide.

    Vietnam has more than 700,000 businesses, of which 98 percent are small and medium enterprises, according to Vietrade.

    The country’s e-commerce market grew by 25 percent in 2017 and is expected to maintain this growth momentum over the next three years, according to the Vietnam E-commerce Association (Vecom).

    It also estimates online retail revenues to hit $10 billion by 2020, accounting for five percent of the country’s retail market.

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  • Rolls-Royce agrees to follow Korea’s lemon law

    Rolls-Royce agrees to follow Korea’s lemon law

    Rolls-Royce announced Wednesday it will follow Korea’s voluntary lemon law for automakers, making it the first foreign luxury brand to accept the newly introduced regulation. Korea’s revised automobile management law, enacted last month, forces complying automakers to replace or refund recently purchased vehicles that repeatedly exhibit problems, similar to lemon laws in the United States.

    While most local automakers have adopted the rule, Volvo has been the only overseas brand to do so.

    The U.K.-based automaker said it will abide by the country’s revised auto guidelines to strengthen its quality commitment to Korean customers.

    “Rolls-Royce will be the first luxury brand to accept the amended automobile management act,” said Rolls-Royce Motor Cars CEO Torsten Muller-Otvos at a launch event on Wednesday for the automaker’s showroom in Cheongdam-dong, southern Seoul.

    “It is our responsibility … to reassure our Korean customers that we will stand by our promise of ultimate quality,” added Muller-Otvos.

    Foreign automakers’ reputations took a blow in Korea last year. BMW Korea conducted two series of recalls after its vehicles began bursting into flames due to component defects.

    The Korean unit of Mercedes-Benz was fined 2.8 billion won ($2.5 million) in December for violating environmental and customs law regarding emissions certifications.

    BMW was fined for similar reasons at the start of this year.

    The quality push from Rolls-Royce comes as the luxury automaker achieved record sales figures last year in the Korean market as foreign imported vehicles continue to grow in popularity.

    According to the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association, Rolls-Royce sales in the domestic market grew 43 percent to 123 units last year from 86 in 2017. Foreign auto imports increased by 11.8 percent.

    The luxury automaker’s performance in the Korean market last year outpaced its 22 percent growth in global sales.

    According to Rolls-Royce, the brand’s sales grew at a rapid pace in Korea last year thanks to an expanded lineup, including the Phantom.

    The CEO said he expects the company’s performance in the country to continue to improve.

    “Korea is a very important cornerstone in our Asia strategy,” said Muller-Otvos. “We might even see at a certain moment Korea overtaking the Japanese business in terms of size.”

    The luxury automaker’s chief also emphasized the automaker’s commitment to the luxury sector as the auto industry braces for major changes.

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  • VinFast to test its first car for safety in Europe next month

    VinFast to test its first car for safety in Europe next month

    VinFast, Vietnam’s first indigenous car manufacturer, plans to test its first vehicle for safety parameters in Europe on March 6. According to company executives, the vehicle will be tested for international standards to ensure its highest safety. This announcement came after VinFast’s Hai Phong factory successfully manufactured the first body shell of the Lux A2.0, a sedan, Wednesday.

    Shaun William Calvert, deputy general director in charge of production, said the first body shell meets the highest quality requirements.

    VinFast, the car manufacturing unit of Vietnam’s largest private conglomerate Vingroup, showed off its first two car models, a sedan and an SUV, at the Paris Motor Show in France last October just a year after the company’s incorporation, grabbing the attention of the local and international media.

    VinFast’s first cars are expected to hit the road in August 2019.

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  • US opens doors to Vietnamese mango after years of attempt

    US opens doors to Vietnamese mango after years of attempt

    The US’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has given the green light for the import of mangoes from Vietnam. The license comes exactly 10 years after Vietnam applied for it. To export fresh mangoes to the U.S., farmers and business will need to meet stringent standards. APHIS will inspect each shipment thoroughly before granting phytosanitary certificates.

    Mango is Vietnam’s sixth fresh fruit licensed to be imported into the U.S. after dragon fruit, rambutan, longan, lychee, and star apple fruit.

    Some 96 percent of Vietnam’s mango production is consumed domestically, with the rest exported currently to 40 countries either as fresh fruit or in processed form.

    The main market is China. The other important ones are Europe, South Korea, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.

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  • U.S. agency submits auto tariff probe report to White House

    U.S. agency submits auto tariff probe report to White House

    The U.S. Commerce Department sent a report on Sunday to U.S. President Donald Trump that could unleash steep tariffs on imported cars and auto parts, provoking a sharp backlash from the industry even before it is unveiled, the agency confirmed. Late on Sunday, a department spokeswoman said it would not disclose any details of the “Section 232” national security report submitted to Trump by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. The disclosure of the submission came less than two hours before the end of a 270-day deadline.

    Trump has 90 days to decide whether to act upon the recommendations, which auto industry officials expect to include at least some tariffs on fully assembled vehicles or on technologies and components related to electric, automated, connected and shared vehicles.

    As the White House received the report, the industry unleashed what is expected to be a massive lobbying campaign against it.

    The industry has warned that feared tariffs of up to 25 percent on millions of imported cars and parts would add thousands of dollars to vehicle costs and potentially lead to hundreds of thousands of job losses throughout the U.S. economy.

    The Motor and Equipment Manufacturers Association, which represents auto parts suppliers, warned that tariffs will shrink investment in the United States at a time when the auto industry is already reeling from declining sales, Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum, and tariffs on auto parts from China.

    “These tariffs, if applied, could move the development and implementation of new automotive technologies offshore, leaving America behind,” it said in a statement. “Not a single company in the domestic auto industry requested this investigation.”

    The Commerce Department started its investigation in May 2018 at Trump’s request. Known as a Section 232 investigation, its purpose was to determine the effects of imports on national security and it had to be completed by Sunday.

    Automakers and parts suppliers are anticipating its recommendation options will include broad tariffs of up to 20 percent to 25 percent on assembled cars and parts, or narrower tariffs targeting components and technologies related to new energy cars, autonomous, internet-connected and shared vehicles.

    The Commerce Department alluded to a focus on emerging vehicle technologies when it opened the investigation.

    Administration officials have said tariff threats on autos are a way to win concessions from Japan and the EU. Last year, Trump agreed not to impose tariffs as long as talks with the two trading partners were proceeding in a productive manner.

    Trump said on Friday that tariffs protect industry and also help win trade agreements.

    “I love tariffs, but I also love them to negotiate,” he said.

    A report from the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Michigan, published on Friday showed its worst-case scenario of a tariff of 25 percent would cost 366,900 U.S. jobs in the auto and related industries.

    U.S. light duty vehicle prices would increase by $2,750 on average, including U.S.-built vehicles, reducing annual U.S. sales by 1.3 million units and forcing many consumers to the used car market, the think tank’s report said.

    Major automaker groups said last year the cumulative effect for the United States would be an $83 billion annual price increase and argued there was no evidence auto imports posed a national security risk.

    Canada and Mexico each won duty-free access to 2.6 million vehicles as part of a new North American free trade deal even if the administration moves ahead with the tariffs.

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