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| Illustrative image (Photo: vneconomy.vn) |
Export turnover increasing
Vietnam exported nearly 1 billion USD worth of fruits and vegetables in Q1, up 8% from a year earlier, with the Chinese market recording an impressive growth of 23%.
Dang Phuc Nguyen, Secretary General of the Vietnam Fruit Association (Vinafruit), attributed the result to the signing of protocols on exports of durian, sweet potato and banana to China through official channels.
The export of pomelo to the US, and passion fruit to New Zealand was also a driver for the overall growth of the sector.
Durian was a big contributor to the impressive export results in the first months of this year. The export turnover of this fruit is expected to hit 1 billion USD, helping the sector’s total figure to 4 billion USD this year, up 20% year-on-year, said Nguyen.
The implementation of free trade agreements is also an important driving force helping fruit and vegetable exports to increase sharply in the first months and make an important contribution to boosting the sector's exports throughout the year.
Good demand for fruit imports in China can help raise total fruit and vegetable exports in Q2 by 10% or higher, Nguyen noted, predicting that the revenue can reach about 2 billion USD in the first half of 2023.
Promoting exports through official channels
Vinafruit has proposed the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) and other ministries and agencies, especially the Vietnam Trade Office in China, study and negotiate for the signing of more protocols for several officially-exported products such as dragon fruit, mango, watermelon, jackfruit and rambutan, together with the opening of markets for other fruits such as green-skinned pomelo, fresh coconut, avocado, lemon, pineapple and star apple.
Besides China, it is also necessary to step up trade promotion activities in other markets such as the US, China, the Republic of Korea and Australia, stated Nguyen.
According to the Vinafruit Secretary General, the greatest difficulty at present is that there are not many planting area and packing facility codes to meet the requirements of the Chinese market. Currently, there are only 246 planting area and nearly 100 packing facility codes granted, much lower than the respective 20,000 and 2,000 of Thailand.
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| Vietnamese durian (Photo: congthuong.vn) |
With an area of nearly 110,000 hectares, and an output of around 1 million tonnes per year, there will be a bottleneck in durian exports to China, if no more planting area code is granted this year.
He also suggested the MoIT and other ministries and sectors to call on investment and advanced technologies for processors to improve the export value, and gain a firmer foothold in such choosy markets as the US and the EU.
Vietnam Trade Offices abroad were advised to regularly organise Vietnamese fruit festivals to introduce the fruits to people in their host countries and international visitors.
Vietnam earned nearly 3.4 billion USD from vegetable and fruit exports last year./.
SEA Games 32: Vietnam surpasses 100-gold medal mark
Vietnamese athletes on May 14 won an additional 20 gold medals at the ongoing 32nd Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) in Cambodia, raising their total number of gold medals to 107, reported the Voice of Vietnam.
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| Taekwondo artist Ly Hong Phuc brings the 100th gold medal for Vietnam at SEA Games 32 in Cambodia. |
Notably, divers brought home five gold medals in the men’s and women’s surface heat singles and teams.
After striking a hat-trick on May 13, Aerobic athletes continued to grab two more gold medals on May 15 in the duo and group performances.
Fencers, Judokas and wrestlers also two more gold medals in each sport.
Other gold medals awarded to athletes in weight lifting, rowing, table tennis, and Chinese chess.
As of 9pm on May 14, Vietnam still topped the medal tally with 107 gold medals, followed by Thailand with 90 gold medals and Cambodia with 67 gold medals.
SEA Games 32 is getting underway in Cambodia, and the regional largest sporting event has three more days to go.
New heat wave to bake Vietnam, temperature to rise to 42℃
A new heat wave is forecast to strike northern and central regions of Vietnam next week, with daytime temperatures to hit a high of 42℃, reported the Voice of Vietnam according to the National Centre for Hydro Meteorological Forecasting.
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| A new heat wave is expected to bake the northern and central regions, staring on May 16. |
The heat wave is anticipated to affect north-western localities on May 16 and then quickly spread across north-eastern and north-central localities.
Daytime temperatures are set to rise to 38-40℃ in the north-western and northern regions, 39-40℃ in coastal areas and 41-42℃ in the highland area of the north-central region.
The capital of Hanoi, located in the northern plain, is also expected to endure the extensive heat on May 16, with daytime temperatures to climb to 38-40℃.
Weather experts did not rule out the possibility that some places in Hanoi may even see daytime temperatures reach its record peak of approximately 41℃ next week.
According to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, it’s highly likely that the El Nino phenomenon will return this summer, bringing more heat waves and prolonged droughts.
This year is predicted to be hotter compared to 2022, and the fifth or sixth hottest year on record.
Hanoi’s hotel market recovering a year after border reopening
A year after reopening to international tourism, Hanoi’s tourism and hospitality industry is posting solid growth, reported the Voice of Vietnam.
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| Four Seasons Hotel Hanoi at Hoan Kiem Lake, in the heart of the city, is currently slated for opening in 2023. |
The capital welcomed 8.14 million visitors in the first four months, a 74% increase year-on-year, according to the municipal tourism department. Domestic tourists were estimated at 6.7 million and international visitors 1.44 million, far exceeding the figure recorded in the same period of 2022. Tourism receipts were estimated at VND30.15 trillion (US$1.28 billion), up 2.2-fold compared to the same period last year.
According to Savills Vietnam, in the first quarter, hotel guests in the capital rose 220% year-on-year, to 1.1 million. Of these, 339,000 were domestic guests, up 21%, and 712,000 were international guests, up 1,400%.
Hotel supply in Hanoi during the first quarter totaled 10,260 rooms in 17 5-star hotels, 18 4-star hotels, and 31 3-star hotels, up 1 per cent year-on-year. The increase in tourist arrivals led to an improvement in hotel occupancy, by 58% on average, up 9% quarter-on-quarter and 35% year-on-year. The increase in demand also led to an increase in the average room tariff.
Mr. Matthew Powell, Director of Savills Hanoi, said the capital’s hotel market is recovering positively, driven by an increase in the number of domestic and international tourists. This recovery has had certain impacts on occupancy as well as the financial situation of hotels. “I expect the hospitality market to record a stronger recovery as the number of international tourists increases,” he added.
With China’s resumption of group tours to Vietnam and regular flights between the two countries having resumed, the return of visitors from this important source market is expected to be a driving force in the recovery of the hotel segment, both from leisure and business travel.
In terms of supply, Hanoi is expecting two new projects this year with a total of 471 rooms, and 66 new projects with 11,123 rooms are expected from 2024 onwards. Of these, the number of 5-star hotels accounts for 61 per cent. Notable projects include L7 Westlake, Dusit Tu Hoa Palace, The Ritz Cartlon, Four Seasons, Waldorf Astoria Hanoi, and Fairmont.
This will be a positive addition to the hotel supply, especially the luxury hospitality segment, in Hanoi, Mr. Powell said. He also emphasized the appearance of branded apartments as well as 3 and 4 star hotels in the inner city and surrounding areas, which will increase the diversity of tourism products on the market.
“Vietnam has been planning and orienting the development of its tourism industry towards sustainability, through the promotion of information technology and achievements in Industry 4.0, to develop sustainable and smart tourism,” he went on. “Tourism has become a spearhead economic sector.”
The government has also recently taken proactive action with international partners to cooperate in further developing Vietnam’s tourism industry and hotel segment, he added.
“Thanks to its natural and economic advantages, Vietnam is still known as a destination for resort tourism and especially business travel. Not only that, the country is a bright spot in attracting foreign investment. The wave of investment pouring into Vietnam is expected to create major demand in the hotel industry thanks to rising demand for accommodation among foreign experts and workers.”