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| A cultural exchange activity is held in Da Nang city to promote tourism linkage with the RoK. (Photo: VNA) |
Destinations including Phu Quoc, Da Lat, and Nha Trang are favoured by Korean travelers thanks to reasonable costs and diverse tourism activities.
According to the ministry, during the period, more than 1 million Korean people traveled from the Incheon to Nha Trang – Vietnam’s coastal resort city. In 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, the city attracted more than 735,400 Korean visitors.
Meanwhile, the number of Korean visitors to Phu Quoc Island - which is considered "Vietnam's Jeju island", also increased sharply.
In the first 11 months of this year, nearly 300,000 Koreans traveled on the Incheon-Phu Quoc route and more than 61,000 others on the Incheon-Da Lat route.
Korean and Vietnamese airlines also quickly expanded flight networks to meet the demand for travel to emerging destinations in Vietnam.
On December 24, the RoK's Jin Air launched its Phu Quoc-Incheon flights. Earlier this month, Vietnamese budget airline VietJet Air launched a new route from Busan to Phu Quoc island. Low-cost airline Jeju Air has also opened Icheon-Da Lat flights from December 20 with a frequency of seven flights per week, becomingthe first RoK domestic airline operating regular flights to the famous resort city in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong.
Coffee export to Germany enjoys sharp increase
Vietnam’s coffee export to Germany in November 2023 reached 18,150 tons, worth 48.55 million USD; up more than 1,590% in volume and up over 1,317% in value against October 2023, according to Ministry of Industry and Trade’s General Department of Customs.
The figures also increased 14.3% in volume and rose 46.9% in value compared to the same period last year.
However, in January-November 2023, Vietnam’s coffee exports to Germany still decreased by 12.9% in volume and declined 6.9% in value compared to the same period last year, equivalent to 168,130 tons, worth 383.72 million USD.
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| In November 2023, Vietnam's coffee exports to Germany increased in both volume and value. (Photo: congthuong.vn) |
In the 11 months, Vietnam exported Robusta coffee, processed coffee and Arabica coffee to the German market. Specifically, Robusta and Arabica coffee exports decreased, processed coffee exports were stable. The proportion of Robusta coffee exports to the German market accounted for 92.54%; processed coffee 3.88% and Arabica coffee 3.58%.
According to economic experts, Germany is a potential market for the Vietnamese coffee industry. In recent years, Germany’s coffee import turnover from Vietnam has always remained stable, accounting for market share of 18% to 25% of Germany’s total coffee imports.
The Vietnam Trade Office in Germany said that Vietnam sees many opportunities to bring Vietnamese goods into Germany. German consumers are willing to use good quality products with competitive prices from developing countries.
Besides, the number of Asians in general and Vietnamese in particular living, working and studying in Germany has been increasing in recent years. This group of consumers tends to use a lot of Asian products, including Vietnamese products.
Vietnam sees trade surplus with EU, America
Because of many negative impacts from the global economy, Vietnam’s exports to the European - American market in 2023 reached about 166 billion USD, down 9.6%, while imports are estimated at nearly 41 billion USD, down 9.1% against 2022, reported the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
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| Cargo shipment by sea. (Photo: VNA) |
However, the country’s trade surplus with the European - American market is estimated at 125 billion USD; of which the surplus with European countries reached about 33 billion USD while those with the Americas was estimated about 92 billion USD.
Demand for imported goods in Vietnam’s main export markets decreased compared to the same period last year. According to statistics, in the first 10 months of 2023, the EU reduced imports from non-bloc markets by nearly 16%; US imports from foreign markets decreased by 6%.
For the first time after many years of continuous high growth, export turnover to some key markets decreased sharply, of which exports to the US were down 12.4% against 2022; exports to the EU posted 43.7 billion USD, down 6.7%.
Exports to countries belonging to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in the Americas reached 13.1 billion USD, down 10.6%.
National CPI up 3.25% in 2023
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| Vietnam’s consumer price index (CPI) in 2023 is estimated to rise 3.25% year-on-year. (Photo: VNA) |
Vietnam’s consumer price index (CPI) in 2023 is estimated to rise 3.25% year-on-year, meeting the target set by the National Assembly (NA), Vietnam News Agency quoted figures of the General Statistics Office (GSO).
Nguyen Thi Huong, head of the GSO, told a press conference in Hanoi that the index in the fourth quarter went up 3.54% from the corresponding time last year, and that in December increased 0.12% month-on-month and 3.58% year-on-year.
She attributed the December increase to the rising medical costs, tuition fees, and prices of electricity and rice, adding among the 11 commodity groups, 10 saw year-on-year hikes and the rest – post and telecommunications - experienced a decline of 1.36%.
For the whole year, the prices of housing and construction materials expanded by 6.58%; food, up 6.85%; electricity, 4.86%; drugs and medical services, up 1.23%; and other goods and services, up 4.65%. Meanwhile, petrol prices dropped 6.94% from the previous year, and post and telecoms down 0.81%.
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| Illustrative image (Source: VNA) |
The December domestic gold price moved up 3.98% from the previous month and 13.13% year-on-year, contributing to the yearly average growth of 4.16%.
The average US dollar price in the free market was around 24,426 VND in the year. The December price decreased by 0.56% month-on-month, but up 1.04% over the same period last year.
December core inflation also inched up 0.17% month-on-month, and 2.98% year-on-year, leading to the yearly average growth of 4.16%./.