The export of Vietnam’s wood industry to France and Europe at large has ample room for growth
(Illustrative photo: haiquanonline.com.vn)
Vietnam is currently the sixth largest provider of wooden furniture in France, but only makes up 4.5 percent of the European nation’s total import values, reported VNA.
The Agency of Foreign Trade cited data from the International Trade Centre showing that France’s imports of wooden furniture surged by nearly 60 percent against the same period last year to 2.4 billion USD in the first six months of 2021.
Experts forecast that Vietnam’s timber and wood product exports to Europe will surge in the latter half of 2021. By that time, COVID-19 is expected to be brought under control and European countries are projected to loosen restriction measures and facilitate trade flows.
The recovery of the European economy will be a driving force for Vietnam's export of timber and wooden products to the market.
In addition, the European Union - Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) is hoped to benefit the sector thanks to the removal of non-tariff barriers and facilitation of the import of advanced equipment, thus improving productivity and competitive edge of Vietnam’s wood industry in the European market.
HCM City to continue social distancing measures for another month
Ho Chi Minh City, the country’s current COVID-19 epicentre, will continue its strict social distancing measures for another month until September 15 given the risk of a resurgence, VNA quoted the saying of Phan Van Mai, vice secretary of the city's Party Committee, on August 15.
A street in Ho Chi Minh City during implementation of social distancing measures (Photo: VNA)
Speaking at a meeting to receive goods and necessities for people affected by the pandemic in Vietnam’s biggest city, the official said the pandemic could become more severe if the city lower its guard.
It is essential that social distancing be applied to reduce the number of new cases and gradually bring the city to a 'new normal' state, he said, emphasising that people's awareness is the most important factor in the work.
The official said the pandemic in the city has been partially controlled but is still very complicated with the number of infections remaining high and the treatment system being overloaded.
He said the Government’s requirement to control the pandemic by September 15 is challenging, but it is a common desire of the people. Leaders of the city affirmed maximum priority towards pandemic prevention, while putting the health and life of the people first and foremost.
The need to continue social distancing for one more month was also noted earlier on August 14 by Secretary of the Committee Nguyen Van Nen at a conference assessing pandemic prevention and control results after two weeks.
The city has been implementing the Prime Minister’s directive on social distancing rules since July 9 and started to impose even more restrictions on July 24 to contain the spread of the virus.
On July 23, the Municipal People's Committee decided to extend the application of social distancing measures until August 1.
On August 1, the city issued another decision on imposing city-wide social distancing measures for an additional 14 days from 0:00 on August 2.
Vietnam to buy additional 20 million Pfizer vaccine doses
The Vietnamese Government has agreed to buy a further 20 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, as part of the deal for 31 million doses of the vaccine as adopted by the Ministry of Health in May.
According to VOV, The Ministry of Health will be responsible for the purchase of the vaccine as swiftly as possible as Vietnam is projected to vaccinate 70 percent of its population against COVID-19 to achieve herd community by early next year.
The nation received the first one million of Pfizer doses in July, while another three million are set to be delivered this month. The remaining 47 million doses are expected to be delivered in fourth quarter of the year.
Earlier in June Vietnam also consented to buy 30 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine from the Vietnam Vaccine Joint Stock Company (VNVC).
The country has so far received 19 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine from the deal with VNVC, the global vaccine access mechanism Covax, and as support from other nations. This consists of 11.5 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine, 12,000 doses of Sputnik V, 746,000 doses of Pfizer, more than 5 million doses of Moderna, and 1.5 million doses of Sinopharm vaccine.
As of August 14, more than 13.7 million people nationwide received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and more than 1.2 million have been fully vaccinated./.