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Tag: Vietnam

  • Canada imports 50% more Vietnamese garments, seafood

    Canada imports 50% more Vietnamese garments, seafood

    Vietnamese garment and seafood exports to Canada have surged 50% year-on-year, totaling values of $1.1 billion and $334 million, respectively.

    As the two categories saw the most significant increases in exports to Canada of the last three years, other categories such as wood, chemicals, metal, cashew nuts, handbags, and machines also recorded growth of between 3% and 30%, according to statistics from the Vietnam Customs Office.

    Total exports from Vietnam to Canada have risen 28.7% year-on-year to nearly $5.5 billion over the same period.

    Canada is Vietnam’s second-largest export market in the Americas, behind the U.S.

    And Vietnam is Canada biggest export market in ASEAN.

    But Canada has been increasing its trade safeguards against Vietnam recently, and Vietnamese authorities have proposed that the country impose a fairer trade policy with Vietnamese goods in line with regulations of the World Trade Organization, said Vo Tan Thanh, deputy chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI).

    He said that Canada should be more open to importing competitively priced Vietnamese agricultural products such as vegetables and coffee.

    At the 29th APEC Summit in Thailand, Vietnam President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau agreed to expand and deepen bilateral cooperation in all fields, especially trade and investment.

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  • Food, beverage prices soar ahead of Tet

    Food, beverage prices soar ahead of Tet

    Consumer goods, including vegetables and seafood, have seen prices surge by double digits in the last month.

    Oanh in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 1 said prices have risen in recent weeks at a traditional market she often shops at.

    “The price of snakehead fish this morning was VND20,000 up from last week to VND90,000.”

    The Tra Vinh Province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said fish prices have been rising because of increasing demand as input for making products for Tet, Vietnam’s biggest holiday, which falls in January.

    Besides, the supply of some fish, such as snakehead has dropped by 50-60% compared to a year ago, it said.

    Soft drink and beer prices have risen by VND2,000-15,000 per carton this month, according to shops, who said transportation and storage prices have been rising.

    Vegetable prices have also been increasing. Cauliflower now costs VND70,000 per kilogram, up 7.7%. Scallion prices have risen by 15.4% to VND75,000 per kilogram.

    Hue, a vegetable vendor at Ba Chieu Market in Binh Thanh District, said prices are at their highest levels this year.

    Hoang Thanh Hai, director of the Hai Nong Vegetable Cooperative in Cu Chi District, HCMC, said prolonged rainfall in November has hit output by up to 70%.

    His cooperative used to deliver 2.5-3 tons of vegetables to the city daily, but now only sends 0.7-1 ton, he said.

    Vegetable farming costs have risen by 40-50% year-on-year to record levels, and declining consumption has caused farmers to reduce production.

    Vietnam’s consumer prices in November rose 4.56% from a year earlier, fueled by rising costs of educational services and construction materials, according to the General Statistics Office.

    For the first 11 months of 2022, average consumer prices rose 3.02% from a year before, it said.

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  • Vietnam firm reluctant to launch cargo flights, foreign carrier eager

    Vietnam firm reluctant to launch cargo flights, foreign carrier eager

    Local IPP Air Cargo has axed plans to become Vietnam’s first cargo airline, but Germany’s Lufthansa Cargo has expanded operations.

    In late October, IPP Air Cargo canceled its application to launch what would have been the nation’s first cargo airline. However, the company had already completed the procedures to lease four Boeing Converted Freighters 737 800BCF.

    Jonathan Hanh Nguyen, chairman of the airline’s parent company Imex Pan Pacific Group (IPPG), said that global air cargo demand was declining due to current turmoil.

    “We have decided to end our plan to avoid causing more damage to carriers that are already incurring losses,” he said, adding that the company aimed to reinstate the plan when the market stabilizes.

    Last month, Lufthansa launched its first direct flight from Frankfurt to Hanoi.

    The carrier had previously run two weekly flights from Germany to HCMC before diverting operations to Thailand.

    CCO Ashwin Bhat said his airline could not ignore the Vietnamese market, where 30% of exported items are electronics and high-tech goods.

    Vietnam’s plentiful bilateral trade agreements with major markets, especially Europe, were attractive to Luftnasa, said Bhat.

    He added that the country’s rapid economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic had also interested the dominant European airline.

    According to government statistics, the total volume of goods transported by air in Vietnam has increased 2.5 times over the last ten years. The number is forecasted to surge to 4.1 million tons by 2030.

    According to the Vietnam Logistics Business Association (VLA), Vietnamese airlines hold an international freight forwarding market share of only 12%, while nearly 30 foreign carriers hold the rest.

    VLA president Le Duy Hiep said the withdrawal of IPP Air Cargo from the market was a pity because domestic logistics enterprises are in dire need of Vietnamese cargo airlines.

    According to Hiep, Vietnam’s massive amount of total imports and exports were worth over $700 billion in 2022, with over half being exports. Over two million tons of goods are exported by air from Vietnam each year.

    Analysts have said that these factors have made the potential of the Vietnamese cargo market plain to see for Lufthansa Cargo.

    Hiep said Vietnam should be home to cargo airlines with larger market shares, but noted that this would require much more investment and a wider network of agents and customers.

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  • Unilever Vietnam implements approaches towards net zero future

    Unilever Vietnam implements approaches towards net zero future

    Unilever has started a range of programs and initiatives for a net zero value chain by 2039, contributing to Vietnam government’s net zero carbon emissions vision by 2050.

    In 2021, Unilever published its Climate Transition Action Plan, an ambitious and transparent roadmap to help reduce its operational emissions by 100% by 2030 and reach net zero emissions across its value chain by 2039.

    First, Unilever Vietnam is replacing all fossil fuel use in the factories’ boilers with renewable energy source – biomass recycled from damaged pallets, shredded wood, etc. The company is also committed to using entirely renewable electricity at all factories and offices in Vietnam.

    Secondly, Unilever aims to halve its use of virgin plastic by 2025 to help lower the value chain emissions. Unilever Vietnam has reduced 55% virgin plastic in its packaging production, three years earlier than the global target, through absolute reduction and post-consumer recycled plastic use.

    Thirdly, the company is now replacing fossil fuel-derived chemicals with renewable or recycled carbon. In Home Care, Unilever estimates this will reduce its product’s greenhouse gas emissions by up to 20%.

    In Vietnam, Unilever implemented “Clean Future” campaign for Home Care product line early this year, aiming to develop product formulation with water efficiency and biodegradability, and utilize 100% renewable or circular feedstocks. Currently, a number of products from Omo, Comfort, Sunlight, Cif, Lifebuoy have met the criteria of product formulation driving water efficiency and biodegradability.

    Next, Unilever Vietnam is working with their partners and suppliers in the value chain to cut down the GHG emissions as more than 75% of the carbon footprint in Unilever Vietnam’s supply chain derives from input materials and outsourced activities.

    Until now, the company has eliminated CO2 emissions and carton waste in packaging transportation from Dynaplast; converted to 100% electric forklifts, contributing to a reduction of 1,999 tons of CO2 emissions at all distribution centers by the end of 2021 in comparison with 2020; and implemented the circular economy model in the waste management, turning waste into sources of energy and fertilizers to serve manufacturing activities.

    Unilever globally will be calling on countries to deliver policies that accelerate energy and food system transitions at COP27 on the horizon.

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  • Vietnam auto production ranks 4th in Southeast Asia

    Vietnam auto production ranks 4th in Southeast Asia

    Vietnam ranks fourth in Southeast Asia in auto production in the first 10 months at 362,000 units, up 16.4% year-on-year, according to the General Statistics Office.

    Thailand leads the region with nearly 1.6 million units made in the period, followed by Indonesia, 1.2 million, and Malaysia, 567,700, according to the ASEAN Automotive Federation.

    Many auto factories have recently been established in Vietnam, including Toyota, Honda, Ford, Kia, and Hyundai. Vietnam company VinFast has also been expanding with a focus on the global electric vehicle market.

    Some brands such as Skoda (Czech) and Chery (China) are planning to assemble cars in Vietnam through domestic partners in the next 1-2 years.

    Vietnam also imports cars from the regional leaders Thailand and Indonesia.

    Vietnam also ranked first in year-on-year auto sales growth in the first 10 months at 52.2%, followed by Malaysia at 50.7%.

    The country saw 322,963 units sold, against the leader Indonesia’s 851,413.

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  • Agro exports hit new record high

    Agro exports hit new record high

    Vietnamese agriculture, forestry and fishery exports climbed to a new record of over $49 billion in value through November this year, an 11.8% hike year-on-year.

    As Vietnam’s largest foreign agriculture market, the U.S. accounted for $12.3 billion in shipments, 25% of the total.

    Orders from the robust Chinese economy followed the U.S. market at $9.3 billion.

    Continentally, Asia accounted for 44.7% of the total, trailed by the Americas at 27.4%, and then finally, Europe at 11.3%.

    More Vietnamese agricultural products were exported this year than ever, with fresh pomelo officially added to U.S. shipments for the first time this November after six years of negotiation.

    Fresh durian was officially exported to China in September, along with passion fruit, yams and bird’s nest.

    Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development reported that it is negotiating with China, Japan, South Korea and other countries to continue expanding the list of local agro products shipped abroad.

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  • Low-quality rice imports to be restricted

    Low-quality rice imports to be restricted

    The Ministry of Industry and Trade is drafting a decree on rice trade to limit the import of low-quality grain.

    The volume of low-grade rice imported from India has surged due to low vietnaprices and zero import tax under the ASEAN-India Free Trade Area, potentially affecting Vietnam’s own rice production and food security.

    Last year Vietnam imported a million tons of rice from various countries, including over 72% from India, according to ministry statistics.

    The low-quality grain, including broken, imported from India is mainly used to make noodles, cakes, animal feed, beer, and liquor.

    Vietnam, which exports 6-6.5 million tons of mainly high-grade rice annually to 156 countries and territories, had imported only around 5,000 tons of Indian rice in 2019, according to the ministry.

    Pham Thai Binh, general director of Trung An Hi-tech Farming Joint Stock Company, said “Vietnamese farmers’ income is still very precarious. Instead of importing low-quality rice, enterprises can buy rice in the domestic market, helping increase selling prices and farmers’ income.”

    According to the draft decree, if rice import volumes increase sharply, potentially affecting domestic production, they will be restricted. Besides, rice traders face stiffer penalties for failure to make quarterly and annual reports on exports and inventories as required.

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  • Dollar nears 6-week low

    Dollar nears 6-week low

    The U.S. dollar plunged against the Vietnamese dong Thursday to a near six-week low at Vietcombank.

    The state-owned lender sold it at VND24,680 at 10 a.m., down 0.48% from Wednesday to the lowest since October 22.

    DongABank let the dollar slide by 0.44% to VND24,700. Eximbank sold it at VND24,670, down 0.36%.

    The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) let the reference rate decline by 0.01% to VND23,662.

    Unofficial exchange points sold the dollar 0.44% lower at VND24,850.

    The USD Index, which measures the greenback’s strength against major currencies, dips to 105.69 points, lowest since mid-August.

  • Dollar plunges at banks

    Dollar plunges at banks

    The U.S. dollar plunges at commercial banks Wednesday morning, with Vietinbank selling it at VND24,785, down 0.26% from Tuesday.

    It dropped 0.20% to VND24,800 at Vietcombank, and 0.28% to VND24,770 at Eximbank.

    The State Bank of Vietnam set the reference rate 0.01% lower at VND23,665.

    The greenback is sold at VND24,960 on the black market, down 0.24%.

    The Dollar Index, which measures the greenback’s strength against major currencies, hovers around 106, down from a 20-year high of 114.78 on September 28 on expectations that its rally may have been overstretched and as the Fed looks to slow its pace of rate increases.

    Rising inflation and geopolitical tension have pushed the dollar up 8% over the dong by over 8% since the beginning of this year.

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  • Vietnam gold price drops despite global gain

    Vietnam gold price drops despite global gain

    Prices of gold bars branded SJC on Wednesday decreased 0.15% from the previous day to VND67.1 million ($2,722.11) per tael.

    But gold ring prices went up 0.28% to VND54.15 million per tael. A tael is equal to 37.5 grams or 1.2 ounces.

    Global spot gold was up 0.1% at $1,751.89 per ounce, aided by a dip in the U.S. dollar, with investors largely focusing on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech for insights into the U.S. central bank’s monetary policy path.

    Powell’s speech is the main focus for the market, said Edward Meir, an analyst with ED&F Man Capital Markets.

    “If Powell takes a hawkish stance, the dollar will strengthen and gold will move lower, probably back to the $1,745 level. But if he sounds more conciliatory, gold could move up to the $1,780 level.”

    Meanwhile, top gold consumer, China reported a slight drop in new Covid cases for Nov. 29, the National Health Commission said.

    Gold needs a strong China as it drives risk appetite and could bolster jewelry demand, and bullion could gain if China’s health authorities provide some clear signals that they are close to tweaking their zero-Covid policy, Edward Moya, senior analyst with OANDA, said in a note.

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  • Foxconn chaos to leave Apple short 6 million iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max units this year

    Foxconn chaos to leave Apple short 6 million iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max units this year

    We’ve closely monitored the events at Foxconn’s largest iPhone assembly facility in Zhangzhou, China. The factory reportedly produces half of the iPhone units made worldwide, and this year the plant is turning out iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max models. But production has slowed thanks to the exodus of workers who weren’t enamored with China’s COVID lockdown in the city.
    COVID has returned to China, forcing the country to lockdown certain areas. As a result, Foxconn now bans the consumption of meals in the communal dining room, forcing everyone to eat in their dorm. Workers also felt closed in, forced to stay on campus 24/7. After a large number of workers escaped, even Apple had to admit that the production of its pricier iPhone 14 Pro models this quarter would be less than expected. Apple did not specifically give an estimate of how many units it will be short but it did say, “customers will experience longer wait times to receive their new products.” Some reports called for as much as a 33% shortfall.
    Foxconn tried to entice new and former workers to man the assembly lines by offering bonuses for employees who stay for 30 and 60 days, and the Chinese government asked veterans and Communist party members to recruit new employees for Foxconn. And all of these things, the bonuses and the pressure from the government might have worked until last Tuesday night. That’s when a major clash between workers and security guards at the Foxconn grounds in Zhengzhou occurred.

    Workers said that the contracts they were offered would have paid them bonuses only after more than 60 days had gone by, and the employees also said that they weren’t being separated far enough away from older workers who might have COVID. In an attempt to quell the violence, Foxconn offered new employees cash to quit their jobs and leave the Foxconn campus. The company later said that a “technical error” was made relating to the bonuses and it apologized. Supposedly, 20,000 workers took the offer.

    Today, a new report from Bloomberg gives us a better idea about how Apple will be impacted by the chaos we’ve seen in Zhengzhou. The report indicates that Apple will be short nearly 6 million iPhone 14 Pro units this year. And make no mistake about it, the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max are the more expensive 2022 iPhone models. Apple could take a $6 billion revenue hit during the current quarter. That would be 8.4% of the $71.6 billion in iPhone revenue generated during the fiscal first quarter of 2022 (October-December 2021).

    Considering that this shortfall would occur during the holiday shopping season, consumers worldwide could end up frustrated in their attempt to purchase one of the 14 Pro models as a holiday gift. Two weeks ago, even before the issues in Zhengzhou reached a fever pitch, UBS analyst David Vogt said that wait times for the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max in the U.S. and China had hit “extreme levels.” In the U.S., the wait time was 34 days for these models while in China the wait was up to 36 days.

    Vogt pointed out that 35% to 40% of Apple’s calendar fourth quarter iPhone production is assembled during December which could lead to shortages during the fourth quarter of this year and extending into the first quarter of 2023. The analyst expects Apple to ship 83 million iPhone units during the fiscal first quarter of 2023 which already takes into account “recent disruptions.”
    However, Vogt made this comment before the violence broke out at the factory and before Foxconn paid 20,000 workers to leave the facility. If he does have a new updated figure, we will update this story.
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  • Online shopping startup Cooky raises $4.5mln

    Online shopping startup Cooky raises $4.5mln

    Online shopping and cooking platform Cooky has raised $4.5 million in a funding round led by Vietnam’s Do Ventures, South Korea’s Nextrans.

    The funding will be used for research and development to create more nutritious recipes at a better cost, said Cooky’s founders Dang Hoang Minh and Nguyen Thanh Dai, also founding members of food platform Foody.

    The startup aims to become a food-tech company, making shopping and cooking easier and more efficient, making both happen within 30 minutes, said Cooky CEO Minh.

    Its app is a combination of an online grocery delivery platform and a cooking delivery service, where customers can shop for ingredients individually or buy a recipe. It has been downloaded more than one million times since it was launched 1.5 years ago.

    After the Covid pandemic boosted demand for online shopping, this consumption behavior has been maintained by Vietnam’s young population. With the rapid rise in popularity of online shopping solutions, the country’s e-grocery market is expected to reach $1.5 billion by 2025, Cooky estimates.

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  • Vietnam Electricity reports losses of $635 mln

    Vietnam Electricity reports losses of $635 mln

    Vietnam Electricity (EVN) posted losses of VND15.758 trillion ($635.4 million) between January and October, with higher fuel prices a major contributing factor.

    EVN said fluctuations in the world prices of coal, oil, and gas since the beginning of this year had caused its production costs and purchase prices of electricity it bought from other power plants to soar.

    According to its financial statements, EVN racked up after-tax losses of more than VND16.586 trillion ($668.79 million) in the first half of this year.

    With world prices of fuels in 2023 predicted to remain high, it would be hard for EVN to achieve good business results next year, the utility said. It estimates losses of VND31.36 trillion in 2022.

    According to a report by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, prices of input materials for electricity production have skyrocketed since the beginning of the year, with that of imported coal doubling to $304.8 per ton, so retail prices of electricity may increase shortly.

    The average retail price of electricity currently stands at VND1,864.44 (7.5 cents) per kWh, excluding value-added tax. In June, EVN said the year’s price should increase to VND1,915.59 (7.7 cents) per kWh.

  • First Vietnamese pomelo exported to US

    First Vietnamese pomelo exported to US

    Pomelo became the seventh Vietnamese fruit to be officially exported to the U.S. Monday with the first 100 tons being transported from the southern province of Ben Tre.

    The batch is split into six containers. Four of them will be exported by air and two by sea.

    Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam said at the announcement ceremony Monday that the U.S. is one of the most difficult markets in the world but has large demand for fresh fruits.

    He added that Americans consume about 12 million tons of fruits annually, with 30% of them imported.

    The exported pomelo must come from the 36 growing areas in Vietnam that have been registered with U.S. authorities.

    They span 752 hectares, or 0.71% of Vietnam’s total pomelo growing area.

    Many measures must be strictly taken to ensure the fruits are clean and healthy.

    Ben Tre Province Chairman Tran Ngoc Tam said that of the seven Vietnamese fruits that are exported to the U.S., the province has three: pomelo, longan and rambutan.

    Other fruits that have been approved for official U.S. exports are mango, dragon fruit, star apple and lychee.

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  • Global giants eye Vietnam e-commerce logistics market

    Global giants eye Vietnam e-commerce logistics market

    The world’s largest container shipping line Maersk and U.S. express delivery company FedEx are seeking to enter Vietnam’s e-commerce logistics market. Ditlev Blicher, regional managing director for Asia-Pacific, A.P. Moller – Maersk (Maersk), was in the country this week, three months after the Danish company spent US$3.6 billion on acquiring Hong Kong firm LF Logistics.

    He said with LF Logistics’ expertise in omnichannel orders, Maersk would have a better position in the global e-commerce market, including Vietnam. He said that his company plans to offer business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) delivery services.

    Hoan Dang, head of omnichannel order fulfillment at Maersk Vietnam and Cambodia, said with the acquisition of LF Logistics, his company could join hands with e-commerce platforms to handle goods orders in the Vietnamese market.

    FedEx is integrating its services with e-commerce platforms to enable online retailers to use them without leaving the platforms.

    Hardy Diec, managing director of FedEx Express Indochina, said e-commerce would continue to flourish in Vietnam.

    Earlier this month his company opened a new $2-million operations center in Hanoi’s Bac Tu Liem District. Vietnam will be one of the top 10 countries for FedEx in terms of trade volume growth over the next five years.

    Vietnam will achieve the highest growth in the digital economy in Southeast Asia between 2022 and 2025, a report by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company has forecast.

    Its digital gross merchandise volume is likely to reach $23 billion in 2022, and $32 billion by 2025.

    According to global firm Allied Market Research, Vietnam’s express delivery market is expected to be worth $4.88 billion by 2030 after growing at 24.1% annually, with the growth of e-commerce being one of the main drivers.

    Logistics firms are expanding their services and lowering prices.

    This month Lazada Logistics announced it would start offering omnichannel deliveries for online shops.

    J&T Express announced cuts of 10-20% in freight.

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