Photo for illustration (Source: VNA)
The figures also represented year-on-year increases of 33.1 percent in volume and 26.4 percent in value, the Agency of Foreign Trade at the Ministry of Industry and Trade cited statistics by the General Department of Vietnam Customs as showing.
According to the Vietnam News Agency, Rubber export price averaged 1,645 USD per tonne in May, down 8.9 percent against April and 5 percent as compared with the same period last year.
In the first five months of this year, the country shipped abroad 595,000 tonnes of rubber valued at 1.04 billion USD, up 8.1 percent and 12 percent year-on-year, respectively.
China was the biggest buyer of Vietnamese natural and synthetic rubber, with hikes seen in both volume and value in the first months.
The Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC) forecast that the global rubber demand will increase in the time ahead due to loosened travel restrictions and the reopening of borders by countries, helping to resume economic activities.
Trade turnover surges over US$42 billion in five months
Vietnam’s total import-export value during the opening five months of the year reached US$306.16 billion, a rise of 16% or equivalent to a US$42.2 billion increase against the same period last year, according to statistics released by the General Department of Vietnam Customs.
Photo for illustration (Source: VNA)
Most notably, the country’s import and export value during the second half of May soared by 24.2% to US$35.17 billion, equal to US$6.86 billion compared to the first half of May.
Of the figure, total import-export value of foreign-invested enterprises during the five-month period reached US$211.43 billion, up 15.2%, while the trade value of domestic enterprises rose by 17.7% to reach US$94.73 billion against the same period last year.
Furthermore, a number of commodity groups recorded high export growth during the second half of May, including computers, electronic products and components, up 68%, machinery, equipment, tools and spare parts, up 42.2%, garments and textiles, up 37.5%, phones & accessories, up 22.9%, and footwear of all kinds, up 44.4%, said the Voice of Vietnam.
Meanwhile, high import value was seen in commodity groups such as computers, electronic products and components, up 10.6%, other machinery, equipment, tools & spare parts, up 14.3%, and chemicals, up 34.6%
During the five-month period, the country’s total export value reached US$153.3 billion, up 16.7%, equivalent to US$21.9 billion against the same period last year, while total import value soared by 15.3% to US$152.86 billion.
Australian magazine praises Phu Quoc as “Lovers’ Island”
Traveller magazine has praised Phu Quoc, an island in Vietnam’s southern province of Kien Giang, as “Lovers’ Island”.
Australian magazine praises Phu Quoc as “Lovers’ Island” (Photo: NDO)
According to the Nhan Dan newspaper, in its recent article entitled ‘25 incredible bucket-list islands tourists are yet to discover’, the Australian magazine said that Phu Quoc has everything for the honeymoon mood: luxury resort hotels and spas, great seafood restaurants and chic cocktail bars, along with shimmering reefs and castaway islets.
Among the two-dozen beaches, Dai (Long) Beach and Khem Beach are sunset-perfect for their white sands and emerald waters, it commented.
It also recommended Sao Beach as another corker, but head 10 kilometres north to the hillside Ho Quoc Pagoda and you can prepare to pop the question at sunrise or in the moonlight, when views are ethereal.
The best time to visit Phu Quoc is the October-March dry season, it noted.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Phu Quoc welcomed more than 5 million visitors in 2019, including nearly 600,000 foreigners.
Rice exports anticipated to maintain high prices in June
With the current rice export market remaining relatively stable, buying demand is still at a high level with the initial days of June seeing the export rice price continuing to rise by US$10 to US$15 per tonne compared to May.
According to details given by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnamese 5% broken rice exports, after rising to US$425 per tonne in mid-April, had decreased slightly to US$415 per tonne by the beginning of May, equivalent to the average in March.
Photo for illustration (Source: VOV)
Nguyen Van Thanh, director of Phuoc Thanh IV Production and Trading Co. Ltd., said that the rice export market stayed relatively stable in May.
Data compiled by the Vietnam Food Association indicates that during the first five months of the year, rice exports to the Philippines market reached more than 1.2 million tonnes, an increase of more than 300,000 tonnes compared to the same period in 2021. These represent good signs for the rice export market as it grows and continues to flourish, reported by the Voice of Vietnam.
According to Thanh, Vietnamese ordinary rice coded 504, 5451, and Dai Thom 8 are all enjoying good prices thanks to many countries increasing their purchase volume. In particular, every year the Philippines does not start its rice import quota until the beginning of June, although now they are choosing to begin imports early, causing the rice export market to do a brisk trade since May.
According to Phan Van Co, marketing director of Vrice Co. Ltd., although the market shows many positive signs, export rice prices currently remain high. However, rice exports moving forward face plenty of difficulties. Currently, the African market has switched to buying Indian rice due to its good price, as well as far cheaper shipping costs compared to purchasing from Vietnam.
Rice exports enjoy other positive signals thanks to the high demand in the Chinese and Philippine markets as production has been reduced by floods in China, whilst rice stocks are at a low level in the Philippines, Thanh assessed.
As a means of supporting export businesses, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has continuously organised many export consulting sessions to markets such as ASEAN, Northern Europe, and Kuwait in a bid to help local businesses access timely market information and export opportunities.
Moving forward, Trade Promotion Agency and Vietnamese trade offices abroad will hold 30 export consulting sessions to overseas markets this year.
Coffee export turnover exceeds 2 billion USD in five months
Vietnam shipped 889,000 tonnes of coffee overseas for more than 2 billion USD in the first five months of 2022, up 24.2 and 54 percent year on year, respectively.
In May alone, the country exported 150,000 tonnes of coffee worth 343 million USD, down 4.7 percent and 5.4 percent, respectively, said the Vietnam News Agency.
Photo for illustration (Source: baodautu.vn)
According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Agency of Foreign Trade, the average price of Vietnamese coffee was estimated at 2,251 USD per tonne, an annual increase of 24 percent.
The agency predicted a rising trend for coffee prices in the time to come. This is an opportunity for coffee exporters, including those from Vietnam, it said.
In 2021, the country's export value of coffee, mainly Robusta, reached 1.52 million tonnes, worth of about 3 billion USD, down 2.7 percent in volume, but up 9.4 percent in value year on year.
The Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association has targeted an export turnover of 5-6 billion USD from the product in 2030./.