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| Vietnamese lobster - Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) |
The two remainders are still in the process of re-submitting verification regarding lobster cultivation activities, said Director General of Capture Fisheries Tb. Haeru Rahayu.
Previously, Tempo magazine reported that the five companies were Aquagreen Trading Company Limited, Phu Gia Long Trading Joint Stock Company, Ichika Joint Stock Company, The Global Trading Company Limited, and New World Seafood Trading Import Export Aquaculture Company Limited.
They formed five limited liability companies in Indonesia, namely PT Mutagreen Aquaculture International, PT Ratuworld Aquaculture International, PT Gajaya Aquaculture International, PT Idovin Aquaculture International, and PT Idichi Aquaculture International.
Of the five companies, only three have obtained permits for overseas cultivation and export. The three companies are Mutagreen Aquaculture International, Ratuworld Aquaculture International, and Gajaya Aquaculture International.
Furthermore, Haeru did not explain how much lobster quota would be cultivated by the permitted companies. However, he explained that determining the clear lobster seed quota must refer to the Decree of the Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Number 28 of 2024.
Vietnamese firms seek to further exploit Chinese Southwest market
The China-South Asia (CSA) Expo and the 28th Kunming Import and Export Fair in Kunming city, Yunnan province of China has provided a good chance for Vietnamese firms to seek partners and promote exports to the 350 million-strong market of China’s Southwest region, reported Vietnam News Agency.
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| Visitors at a booth introducing Vietnamese products (Photo: VNA) |
This year, Vietnam has sent 61 businesses and provincial units to the event, spanning from July 23-28, to organise 124 booths introducing diverse products, especially farm produce.
Pham Thi Thu Hien, Director of the Quang Ninh Seafood Trading and Production Co. Ltd, said that this is the first time Quang Ninh has sent a delegation to the event, aiming to seek trade partners and explore the demands of Yunnan to provide more local aquatic products to this market.
After COVID-19 pandemic, Yunnan’s demands for Vietnamese products have broaden from wooden furniture and handicrafts to farm produce, processed food and footwear. Meanwhile, Vietnamese firms have paid increasing attention to this potential market.
Ha Duc Binh, Director of the Industrial Expansion and Trade Promotion Centre under the Department of Industry and Trade of Lao Cai province, said that as part of the cooperation programme between Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade and the administration of Yunnan, every year, businesses of Lao Cai and Vietnam have received support from the ministry to participate in the CSA Expo and the Kunming Import and Export Fair.
This is a good opportunity for Vietnamese firms to introduce their products, especially fruits and endemic agricultural products, to the market and bring Vietnamese agricultural products closer to Chinese consumers.
According to Binh, currently, the connection between Vietnam's border localities and China is becoming increasingly smooth, creating favourable conditions for Vietnam's export products to reach the Southwest China market.
An upturn has been seen in Vietnam’s export revenue to China in recent years, which is expected to expand at least 15% this year.
Vietnamese spend nearly 150 trillion VND on online shopping
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| Tiktok Shop and Shopee register growth rates of 150.54% and 65.96%t in revenue in the first six months of this year. (Photo: VNA) |
Vietnamese consumers spent 143.9 trillion VND (5.68 billion USD) buying 1.53 million items on five e-commerce platforms in the first half of this year, representing a rise of 54.91% and 65.55% over the same period last year, respectively, Vietnam News Agency quoted report of market analysis firm Metric.
The figures demonstrate the robust e-commerce market of Vietnam as well as ability of sellers to take advantage of online shopping trends, the report said.
However, Metric pointed out that the growth mainly came from TikTok Shop and Shopee.
Only Tiktok Shop and Shopee registered positive growth rates of 150.54% and 65.96% in revenue in the period.
Meanwhile, Lazada, Tiki and Sendo saw negative growth in both revenue and sale volumes. The report pointed out that Lazada’s revenue fell by 43.81% and Tiki by 48.55%.
Metric said that both Shopee and Tiktok Shop successfully took advantage of livestream shopping trend, while notably, the number of shop malls increased by 12.29% in the period.
The top 10 brands with the highest e-commerce revenue included only one Vietnamese brand – Vinamilk - raising a need for domestic brands to develop business strategies to compete in the domestic e-commerce market.
Metric predicted that the demand for school supplies with prices of below 50,000 VND per item will increase in August and early September as a new school year begins.
HCM City launches free walking tour
The free walking tour officially starts from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. every day, from July 22.
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| Tourists joining the walking tour checked in at the City Post Office . (Photo: Vnexpress) |
The Ho Chi Minh City Free Walking Tour serves domestic and foreign tourists through famous attractions such as: Nguyen Hue Walking Street; the City People’s Committee headquarters, Ho Chi Minh City Symphony - Music and Dance Theater, City Post Office; and the Reunification Palace relic. The tour ends with a free lunch with many delicious specialties at Ben Thanh Market.
Earlier, the southern city also had free walking tours organized by Vietravel on weekends from Friday to Sunday. These tours depart at 04:00 p.m. and last 2-3 hours. It departs at the City Post Office or War Remnants Museum. Tourists and tour guides walk to attractions and listen to instructions in English.
Friday and Saturday tours follow the City Post Office route, Notre Dame Cathedral, Dong Khoi Street to City Theater, City People's Committee and Ben Thanh Market.
Sunday tour starts from War Remnants Museum to Reunification Hall, City Museum, Ben Thanh Market, Indian pagoda, underground food court at 23/9 Park and Bui Vien street.
The City Department of Tourism evaluates that the new walking tour program contributes to enriching inner-city tourism products. Visitors to the city named after Uncle Ho can participate in inner city tours by walking, by river, or by double-decker bus.
Vietnam maintains its position as Singapore’s fifth partner in seafood export
Statistics for the first six months of the year show that, Vietnam’s seafood exports maintained its position as Singapore’s 5th largest partner, a position held for two consecutive quarters. This demonstrates the important role of Vietnamese seafood in this market.
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| Seafood processing workers at an enterprise. (Photo: thesaigontimes.vn) |
Vietnam News Agency reported that in the first half of 2024, export turnover of Vietnamese seafood to the Singaporean market increased by 0.81%, accounting for 9.46% of the market share. The group seeing a strong increase in export turnover is the fresh fish group with 25.42%. Meanwhile, some items had a sharp decrease in export value compared to the same period last year such as iced fresh fish (26.93%) frozen fish (39.42%) and aquatic products (23.08%).
The Vietnam’s Commercial Counselor in Singapore said that in order to sustainably increase market share, improve the ranking as well as the value of Vietnam’s seafood exports to Singapore, Vietnamese export enterprises need to continue to increase the quality of seafood products.
Businesses should also participate in activities connected with Singapore’s seafood associations and enterprises, to create conditions for Vietnamese goods to appear in this market.
Statistics from the Singapore Business Administration for the first half of 2024 show that Singapore imported seafood from about 100 countries and territories. Its import turnover was about 546.14 million SGD, down 3.42% from the same period in 2023.
Among the 15 biggest seafood exporting countries to Singapore, Malaysia topped the list, followed by Norway, Indonesia and China. This is the first time Vietnam has maintained 5th position for two consecutive quarters./.