A dried fruits stall at the fair. (Photo: VNA)
Vietnamese Ambassador to France Dinh Toan Thang has visited Salon International de l'Agriculture (SIA) 2022 in Paris at the invitation of the National Authority for Agriculture and Sea Products (FranceAgriMer) and had working sessions with the host country's agricultural organisations.
At these working sessions, Thang highlighted Vietnam's agricultural strengths and exchanged information on collaboration opportunities towards sustainable development and mutual benefits for both sides.
He told participants that Vietnam is striving to have a modern and high-quality agricultural sector by 2030 and the country is ready to cooperate with France and Europe to create agricultural products that meet the demand of customers in the near future.
Thang also said that many French partners in such industries as meat processing, livestock development, and seafood processing want to explore opportunities for cooperation with Vietnam.
He emphasised that after the European Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) was signed, agricultural and aquatic products are expected to make great strides in this market.
Tran Van Cong, Vietnam's Agriculture Counselor in the EU, said that Europe in general, and France in particular, is a potential market and SIA is an opportunity for Vietnamese businesses to promote their agricultural products.
Running from February 26 to March 6, SIA2022 is one of the biggest agricultural fairs in Europe and France's most extensive regional products market. It has drawn the participation of more than 1,000 exhibitors from 20 countries.
Over 70 meetings will be organised within the framework of SIA2022. They will focus on four major themes namely crops, plants and gardening, livestock production, agricultural services and professions and regional products.
The event is expected to attract 500,000 visitors. It offers an opportunity for experts, farmers, producers and consumers to enjoy French and international cuisine and local specialties, as well as keep up with the latest innovations in animal husbandry, cultivation and food processing.
Construction on Sa Pa airport begins
A ground-breaking ceremony for Sa Pa Airport was held in Cam Con commune, Bao Yen district, the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai, on March 3.
At the ground-breaking ceremony (Photo: baogiaothong.vn)
This is one of the major projects celebrating the 75th anniversary of the provincial Party Committee (March 5, 1947-2022).
According to VNA, approved by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in late October, Sa Pa airport has a total investment of nearly 7 trillion VND (306.54 million USD), of which 2.7 trillion VND comes from the State budget.
The first phase of the 370-ha airport is scheduled to be completed before 2025, serving 1.5 million passengers each year.
Following the ceremony, more work relating to site clearance, resettlement and infrastructure will continue to be done.
Nguyen Trong Hai, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, said the airport would create big momentum for local socio-economic development and investment attraction, helping Lao Cai fulfill the target of comprehensive development, and becoming a bridge between Vietnamese provinces and ASEAN, and the southwest of China.
Retail sales of goods, services up 1.7 percent in January – February
The total retail sales of consumer goods and services in the first two months of 2022 posted a year-on-year increase of 1.7 percent, hitting 876 trillion VND (over 38.35 billion USD), VNA cited the data from the General Statistics Office (GSO).
The total retail sales of consumer goods and services in the first two months of 2022 posts a year-on-year increase of 1.7 percent. Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)
Of which, retail sales of goods expanded by 3.1 percent, with significant growth seen in multiple groups, including cultural and educational items (12.7 percent), food and foodstuff (9.0 percent), and vehicles (4.3 percent). Meanwhile, revenue of clothing and household appliances respectively shrank 8.1 percent, and 9.1 percent.
Due to increased demand for food on the occasion of the Lunar New Year festival in early February, the prices of food surged at some points of time but then returned to the pre-Tet level.
Prices of energy and fuel products have also tended to increase following the global price trend.
To stimulate the domestic demand, the GSO suggested that the Ministry of Industry and Trade keep a close watch on fluctuations of the world and domestic economy, thus rolling out appropriate response solutions.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade should also ask other ministries and sectors to take measures to support businesses, promote disbursement of public investment, stabilise currency and interest rates, and ensure adequate labour serving production and business recovery, the GSO said.
Vietnam makes up over 10% of global footwear market share
Vietnam accounts for over 10% of the global footwear market share for the first time, VOV statistics given by the recent World Footwear Yearbook 2021.
While China's global footwear share has fallen by 12% over the past decade from 73.1% in 2011 to 61.1% in 2020, the Vietnamese market share has increased from 2% to 10.2% during the same period.
China topped the list of exporters with a total of 7.4 billion pairs of shoes exported, followed by Vietnam with 1.2 billion pairs, and Indonesia with 366 million, accounting for 3% of the global shoe market shares, while Germany and Turkey made up 2.5% and 2.3%, respectively.
(Photo source: https://doanhnghieptiepthi.vn)
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the international value chains, leading to a reduction in the export proportion from 62% to 59%.
The World Footwear Yearbook, published annually by the Portuguese Footwear, Components, Leather Goods Manufacturers' Association (APICCAPS), represents a comprehensive report which looks at key trends in the worldwide footwear sector.
The publication aims to analyse the position of the concerned countries in the footwear industry according to various parameters such as production, export, import, and consumption./.