According to data compiled by the General Department of Vietnam Customs, as of December 15, the country's rice exports reached over 6.8 million tonnes, raking in more than US$3.3 billion, up 15.2% in volume and 6.5% in value compared to the same period from last year.
With these positive figures, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development anticipates that the country will fetch between US$3.5 billion and US$3.6 billion from exporting over seven million tonnes of rice this year.
Most notably, the export price of rice has continued to edge up over recent days with the price of local 5% broken rice for export and 25% broken rice standing at US$453 and US$438 per tonne, representing a rise of US$10 and US$5 per tonne, respectively.
This comes as the price of 5% broken rice in November also surpassed that of Thailand to be traded at US$447 per tonne, while Thailand's 5% broken rice was sold at only US$440 per tonne.
With regard to the rice industry’s achievements last year, Do Ha Nam, vice president of the Vietnam Food Association, emphasized that despite fluctuations occurring in the global market, rice exports to major markets such as the Philippines recorded strong growth of nearly 30%.
Furthermore, 2022 also marked a successful year as Vietnamese rice made inroads into the Middle East and European markets, with a high price of over US$1,000 per tonne. The European market saw ST24 and ST25 fragrant rice branded Trung An traded at over US$1,000 per tonne.
Pham Thai Binh, general director of Trung An High-Tech Agriculture Joint Stock Company, added that the company has also expanded exports to the Middle East market and maintained traditional markets such as the Republic of Korea and Malaysia.
Nam predicts that rice exports are anticipated to make major breakthroughs over the coming year as high export prices at the end of the crop will provide rice exporters with an extra advantage when negotiate contracts.
More importantly, high export prices will also create favourable conditions to expand the cultivation area and improve productivity moving forward.
Moreover, the rice sector is expected to enjoy bright prospects in markets such as the Philippines, China, Europe, and Bangladesh.
In particular, China's reopening is predicted to be a promising sign for rice exporters, particularly as the nation exported between 2.5 million to 3 million tonnes to the Chinese market over the previous years, Nam said, adding that the country is likely to export one million tonnes of rice to the northern neighbour thanks to their reopening.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh has recently agreed to extend its memorandum of understanding (MOU) on rice trade with the nation for an additional five years.
With the Philippines maintaining a rice import tax of 35%, there remains plenty of room to boost Vietnamese rice exports in the market as the Philippines may need to import at least three million tonnes of rice due to an ongoing shortage of rice production.
Hanoi attracts nearly 1.7 billion USD in FDI in 2022
Hanoi attracted 1.69 billion USD in foreign direct investment (FDI) last year, still among the localities leading the nation in this field, reported Vietnam News Agency.
    |
 |
| Hanoi attracts 1.69 billion USD in foreign direct investment in 2022 (Photo: VNA) |
The figure represents a year-on-year rise of 10.3%, according to the city’s Statistics Office.
In the year, there were 365 newly-registered projects totaling 233 million USD, and 202 projects that had their capital adjusted with a combined investment of 834 million USD. Foreign investors also spent 625 million USD on contributing capital to and purchasing shares of existing ones.
Foreign capital was mainly poured into import-export activities, goods distribution, construction, information technology, telecommunications, processing, and manufacturing.
According to the Hanoi Promotion Agency (HPA), after more than two years of disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2022, the city implemented a lot of trade promotion activities both inside and outside the country, with priority given to such key markets as Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Taiwan (China), China, the US and the European Union.
|
 |
| Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) |
Most recently, a working delegation led by Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Manh Quyen paid visits to the US and Belgium to step up trade promotion with traditional partners and seek new ones.
For the 2021-2025 period, Hanoi has set a target of attracting 30-40 billion USD in foreign investment, and disbursing from 20 to 30 billion USD.
The city is giving priority to projects in urban infrastructure, smart city building, supporting industry, information technology, tourism, finance-banking, human resources training, and hi-tech agriculture.
Air transport grows 3.7-fold on yearly basis
The aviation market recorded about 55 million passengers in 2022, rising 3.7-fold from the previous year and equivalent to 69.6% of that in the pre-pandemic 2019, reported Vietnam News Agency according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV).
|
 |
| Planes of some Vietnamese airlines (Photo: VNA) |
In particular, about 43.2 million passengers were transported domestically, increasing 3.5-fold from 2021 and 15.6% from 2019, while 11 million others internationally, up 22-fold from 2021 and equivalent to 27% of that in 2019.
About 1.25 million tonnes of cargo were transported by air last year, representing 95% of that in 2021 and equivalent to the volume in 2019. It included 152,000 tonnes carried domestically and 1.1 million tonnes internationally, statistics show.
The CAAV noted aviation activities, especially in the domestic market, have recovered since the end of last year’s first quarter. Right in April, the domestic market was comparable to the same period of 2019. Driven by a boom in summer travel demand, it completely recovered and grew by over 30% in July and August compared to the same months of 2019.
Besides, authorities have actively discussed with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and foreign aviation agencies, including those of Russia, Germany, the UK, Laos, Cambodia, Taiwan (China), Australia, Thailand, the Republic of Korea, Japan, Singapore, Poland, Romania, and China, so as to reopen international air routes.
Particularly, the Vietnamese side has kept contact with aviation authorities of China and India to increase flight frequency and the destinations available.
However, the recovery of international flights remains slow although Vietnam lifted restrictions on foreign arrivals on March 15 and resumed visa exemption for citizens from 25 countries in May, the CAAV admitted.
Nearly 4,000 tonnes of cargo cleared through Mong Cai border gate
Nearly 4,000 tonnes of cargo were customs-cleared in Hai Yen ward, Mong Cai city, in the northern province of Quang Ninh in the first two days of 2023, according to the management board of Mong Cai International Border Gate, reported Vietnam News Agency.
|
 |
| Pontoon bridge Km 3+4 in Hai Yen ward, Mong Cai city of Quang Ninh (Photo: VNA) |
Of the total, 3,316 tonnes of goods, mostly agricultural and aquatic products, were exported to the Chinese side. Meanwhile, 527 tonnes of goods were imported.
On January 3, Bac Luan 2 Bridge will open for vehicles. Local authorities have prepared COVID-19 prevention and control measures to ensure safety.
Earlier, on December 31, the border bridge in Hai Yen handled 187 vehicles transporting 2,108 tonnes of goods to China and 94 others carrying 298 tonnes of goods to Vietnam./.