Photo for illustration. (Source: baotintuc.vn)
Of the total, the export value of apparel, phones and components, and seafood hit 392.278 million USD, 314.862 million USD, and 139.5 million USD, growing 57.59, 22.97, and 73.56 percent annually, respectively.
In 2021, despite COVID-19, Vietnam shipped goods worth 5.3 billion USD to Canada, an annual increase of 20.8 percent.
The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), of which both nations are members, has been considered the leverage behind such growth. The pact came into force in late 2018. Vietnam also signed a free trade agreement with Canada, therefore enjoying tariff reduction or elimination. Notably, since January 1, 2021, Canada removed a total of 96.3 percent of the tax lines for goods originated from Vietnam.
According to the Vietnam Trade Office in Canada, Vietnam is the biggest partner in Southeast Asia of the North American nation. However, room for Vietnamese products to enter the Canadian market remains large, as their value now just accounts for 1.7 percent of Canada’s total imports.
In addition to these advantages, the access to this market is facing various challenges, particularly high transport and preservation costs, and strict safety and technical standards.
Cargo throughput via seaports sees modest growth
Containers at Tan Cang Cat Lai Terminal in HCM City (Photo: VNA)
Cargo throughput across seaports nationwide hit 241 million tonnes in the first four months of 2022, rising 2 percent year-on-year, Vietnam News Agency quoted figures of the Vietnam Maritime Administration.
The volume, excluding transited goods not unloaded at seaports, included 61.95 million tonnes of exports (up 2 percent), 67.49 million tonnes of imports (down 9 percent), and 110.99 million tonnes of domestic goods (up 10 percent).
Container throughput also increased 2 percent to over 8.3 million TEUs during the period.
The administration said 2 percent is the slowest growth in recent years though Vietnam has entered the post-pandemic new normal.
Seaports in many localities have recorded a sharp decline in volume, such as Binh Thuan down 28 percent from a year earlier, Can Tho 25 percent, and Kien Giang 12 percent.
Major ports also witnessed drops from 0.5 - 4 percent, including Hai Phong down 0.5 percent, Ho Chi Minh City 2.8 percent, and Vung Tau 4 percent.
The growth slowdown has been attributed to different factors, mainly that production, export and import activities by domestic enterprises have yet to fully recover.
Besides, China’s zero-COVID policy has also impacted firms doing business with Vietnam’s largest export and import market, according to the administration.
Hanoi has 1,649 OCOP products
Since 2019, Hanoi has registered 1,649 One Commune One Product (OCOP), according to the City Office of New Rural Development Program Coordination.
Photo for illustration. (Source: baotintuc.vn)
Specifically, the city has 4 5-star products, 13 5-star potential products (submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for review and rating), 1,098 4-star products and 534 3-star products.
In which, the food industry has 1,071 products, the beverage industry has 35 products, the herbal industry has 17 products, the handicraft industry has 492 products, and the fabric and garment industry has 34 products.
Aiming to support OCOP product owners to produce and trade, the city focused on organizing events, fairs, seminars and weekly stores to restore and develop production and business on the basis of carrying out effective measures to prevent and control the COVID-19 epidemic.
From the beginning of 2022 until now, Hanoi has built 24 more points to introduce and sell OCOP products, bringing the total to 42 points.
RoK, US send most tourists to Vietnam
Since Vietnam’s tourism fully opened from March 15, 2022; the country has welcomed thousands of international tourists, most of which are Korean and American tourists, according to information recently released by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT).
RoK, US send most tourists to Vietnam. (Photo: hanoimoi.com.vn)
According to VNAT, in April 2022, Vietnam greeted 101,000 foreign tourists, up 242.9% from the previous month and up 520.6% from the same period last year.
As Vietnam hosted the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31) in May 2022, the number of foreigners to the country increased even more. The most searched destinations are: Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Phu Quoc in the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang, Da Nang, Nha Trang in the central province of Khanh Hoa, Hoi An in the central province of Quang Nam, Da Lat in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong, Phan Thiet in the central province of Binh Thuan, Vung Tau in the southern province of Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Hue in Thua Thien - Hue, and Quy Nhon in Binh Dinh.
Among these, the Republic of Korea (RoK) and the US sent the most visitors to Vietnam with 28,600 arrivals, up 195.1% year on year and 23,100 arrivals, up 2,106%. In Northeast Asia, Taiwanese tourists (China) numbered 12,800, up 144% and Japanese tourists 8,800, up 161%, while China is the only market with negative growth (-20%), due to still pursuing the policy of “Zero COVID-19”.
In April, Cambodian tourist arrivals reached 10,300, a very strong increase; Lao tourists reached 6,800, up 76%; and Singaporean tourists posted 5,300, an increase of nearly 10 times compared to the previous month.
For the European market, the number of Russian tourists decreased due to the influence of the Russian-Ukrainian military conflict. France, the UK and Germany sent the most visitors to Vietnam.
RoK resumes issuing short-term tourist visas for Vietnamese from early June
From June 1, C-3 short-term tourist visas will again be issued for foreign and Vietnamese tourists to the Republic of Korea, after being suspended from March 14, 2020, said the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO).
Photo for illustration. (Source: sggp.org.vn)
In the past time, the C-3 short-term tourist visa was only granted to subjects with special purposes including: diplomacy, official service, agreements, residence, investment, and trade when coming to the RoK, but now the issuance of the visa has been expanded to all subjects such as: tourist group, self-sufficient tourists, visiting relatives and commere.
The Multiple Visa is also back in effect. Multiple travel visas which were issued before April 5, 2020 are valid for continued use.
With the resumption of tourist visas for Vietnamese, KTO Vietnam also launched the “Travel to Korea Begins Again” campaign with various activities for Vietnamese tourists and special support for travel agencies to promote the recovery of the Korean tourism market in Vietnam.
“Through new, diverse and diversified communication activities as well as practical support for travel agencies in Vietnam, we hope that tourism exchanges between Vietnam and the RoK will be strongly restored; determining a strong relationship between the two countries after 30 years of establishing diplomatic relations,” said Mr. Lee Jae Hoon, Chief Representative of KTO Vietnam./.