Vietnam expects to export durian to China via official channel this year. (Photo:congthuong.vn)
The forum, organised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), aimed to seek solutions for sustainable production and sale of the southern region’s key fruits.
Le Thanh Tung, deputy director of the MARD's Department of Crop Production, said the output of key fruits in the southern region is expected to reach more than 7.3 million tonnes this year.
It is estimated that China spends 4.2 billion USD on importing durian per year, of which imports from Thailand account for 60 percent.
According to Le Van Thiet, deputy director of the Plant Protection Department, Vietnam exported dragon fruit, mango, lychee, longan, rambutan and star apple to the US. The export of grapefruit to the US is under final negotiation. It is expected that the US will open its door for Vietnamese grapefruit in the the next several months.
Vietnam has also exported dragon fruit, mango and lychee to Japan, Thiet said, adding that the country is negotiating with the Japanese agriculture ministry to ship longan to this market.
Meanwhile, China has licensed the import of Vietnamese passion fruit.
Vietnam invests over 815 million USD in hydropower, mining in Lao province
Vietnam has invested over 815 million USD in hydropower and mining projects in Laos’s Attapeu province, the Vientiane Times reported on June 9.
Illustrative image (Photo: ThaiPBS)
According to Vietnam News Agency, Director of the provincial Energy and Mines Department Vithaya Phommachanh said that 691 million USD was invested in several power projects, including Xekaman 1, Xekaman Sanxay, Xekong Loum A and Xekong Loum B hydropower plants, which are expected to be completed in 2025.
The power projects also include a thermal, a solar and a biomass power plants, along with some transmission lines.
The remaining 30.8 million USD was invested in a transformer station.
Meanwhile, 93.3 million USD was poured in the mining sector.
The Vientiane Times also reported that Vietnam is currently running 417 projects worth 4.3 billion USD in Laos, ranking third among 54 nations and territories pouring capital into the country.
Last year, the Lao Government allowed Vietnamese businesses to invest in three projects, including two in the mining sector and one in the banking sector.
Two-way trade hit 1.37 billion USD in 2021, up 33.32 percent year-on-year.
Vietnam: ideal destination for global tech giants
Illustrative image. (Photo: VNA)
Vietnam is again in the spotlight after Apple’s move to shift production activities to this Southeast Asian country, according to TRT World page of Turkish Radio and Television Corporation.
According to Vietnam News Agency, this move showed that Vietnam has emerged as a preferred manufacturing destination for global tech giants.
For the first time, Apple is moving part of its iPad manufacturing out of China, taking them to factories in Vietnam, Nikkei Asia reported on June 1.
The development comes as lockdowns in the Chinese city of Shanghai disrupted supply chains for various tech products, prompting the iPhone maker to find alternatives, it said, adding that an iPad assembler has already built assembly lines in Vietnam.
Apple is already sourcing its Airpod earpieces from the Southeast Asian economy, which has registered sustained economic growth in the past two decades.
Vietnam has placed itself as a favourite destination for outsourcing manufacturing since the country adopted economic reform in 1980s.
A number of garment and shoe makers have moved their production lines from China to Vietnam after 2007.
But where Vietnam has really made its presence felt in the past decade has been in its ability to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) in factories that are assembling and manufacturing tech products from smartphones to TV components.
The Republic of Korea (RoK) and Japan – home to some of the biggest technology names – accounted for 376 billion USD in total FDI poured into Vietnamese manufacturing sector between 2015 and 2020, according to one study.
Last year, the RoK electronics giant LG invested more than 1 billion USD to increase OLED display output at the port city of Hai Phong.
Even before the COVID-related supply chain disruptions, rising tension between US and China had prompted tech companies to shift production to other countries, notably to Vietnam.
According to an analysis of Nomura – a Japanese investment bank, Vietnam’s economy was boosted by almost 8 percent due to the shift in production during the trade war.
Vietnam’s manufacturing sector has grown in double digits before the pandemic caused disruptions globally. Samsung already accounts for a quarter of Vietnam’s exports while Intel has set up its biggest chip assembly plant there.
All of this has helped Vietnam, a country of 100 million people, become one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.
There are predictions that Vietnam’s economy can overtake Singapore within a few years if it's able to maintain the current growth trajectory, TRT World reported.
Oxford Economics forecast that around 4 percent of global electronic exports will come from Vietnam by 2025.
Rubber exports continue to grow sharply in May
Vietnam’s rubber exports in May 2022 were estimated at 181 million USD, up 40.4% in volume and 27.9% in value compared to the previous month.
Photo for illustration
The Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Import-Export Department quoted data from the General Department of Customs as saying the average export price of rubber this month reached 1,645 USD per ton, down 8.9% compared to April 2022 and down 5% compared to May 2021.
In the first 5 months of 2022, the country exported 595,000 tons of rubber, worth 1.04 billion USD, up 8.1% in volume and 12% in value over the same period last year.
In general, in the first months of 2022, many types of rubber for exports increased sharply in both volume and value compared to the same period last year.
The Chinese market accounts for 99.7% of Vietnam’s total natural and synthetic rubber, with export increase in both volume and value in the first months of the year.
In May, the price of raw rubber latex across the country decreased slightly compared to the end of April. In Binh Phuoc, raw rubber latex is purchased by Phu Rieng Rubber Company at the price of 305-345 VND per TCS.
In Binh Duong, the purchase price of raw rubber latex of Phuoc Hoa Rubber Company fluctuates around 340 VND per TSC. Rubber latex in Gia Lai was purchased by Mang Yang Rubber Company at 305-315 VND per TSC, a slight decrease compared to the end of April 2022.
Three VN universities break into top 1000 of QS global rankings
Three Vietnamese universities have been named among the top 1000 in the latest World University Rankings 2023 released by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), a British firm specialising in overseas education, reported VOV News.
Vietnam National University in Hanoi is named among the top 1000 in the latest World University Rankings 2023. (Photo: VOV)
Vietnam National University in Ho Chi Minh City along with its sister institution in Hanoi entered the 801 to 1000 band of the 2023 rankings, QS announced on June 9.
This year also witnessed the emergence of Duy Tan University in Da Nang in the 801 to 1000 group for the first time.
Elsewhere, both Ton Duc Thang University and Hanoi University and Science and Technology (HUST) made the ranking, entering the 1001 to 1200 and 1201 to 1400 groups, respectively.
The QS global rankings continued to expand the scale of global higher education institutions assessed, with 1,422 universities featuring on this year’s list, an increase of 122 universities compared to 2022.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, more commonly known globally as MIT, maintained its top position in the 2023 QS University World Rankings.
Criteria for evaluation includes academic reputation, employer reputation, faculty to student ratio, international student ratio, international research network, and employment outcomes./.