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| In 2023, Vietnam’s rice exports hit a record value of more than 4.8 billion USD. (Photo: vneconomy.vn) |
Last year, Vietnamese rice was truly a "pearl" with a bumper export year as increasing quantity and value have brought joy to farmers and the entire Vietnamese rice industry.
Agricultural, forestry and fishery production in 2023 continued to be a strong pillar of the economy. Industrial production experienced a difficult year, but followed a positive trend, especially in the last months of the year.
At the same time, good recovery of trade, consumption and tourism activities has positively impacted the economy, The service sector contributed the most with more than 62% to the added value of the entire economy.
Andrea Coppola, World Bank Lead Economist for Vietnam, has described Vietnam in 2023 as resilient, saying that amid the global economic slowdown, the Southeast Asian nation was still able to sustain a rate of growth that many other countries in the rest of the world can only dream about.
According to Coppola, Vietnam is considered one of the most open economies in the world. Its strong trade relations with the rest of the world are a source of strength and success. Vietnam’s economic performance in 2023 is positive when considering the very challenging global context.
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| Vietnam's GDP in 2023 is among the highest in the region and the world. (Photo: baodautu.vn) |
Vietnam also raised a lot of attention in 2023 as media outlets with global reach have published articles to underscore the country’s performance and potential, he said, stressing that the visits of world leaders to Vietnam also attracted even more attention of the international community.
According to the economist, Vietnam is an appealing destination for international investors because of its economic and political stability and its capacity to integrate in the global economy.
He stressed that in such a context, it is critical for the country to continue strengthening the business environment and attract private investors’ attention to fully take advantage of impact of global geopolitical developments on international investment and trade.
The WB hopes that the demand for Vietnamese exports from the rest of the world will recover in 2024, he said, recommending Vietnam to leverage its internal strength and boost the productivity growth of its domestic economy to transform the challenges provided by the global economic slowdown into an opportunity to further strengthen its economic growth model.
“Keeping growth above 5% is very impressive. Vietnam is one of the few economies that continues to show good resistance to fluctuations in the global economy. This is a very positive signal compared to highly-open, export-oriented economies such as Thailand and Malaysia,” said Mr. Shantanu Chakraborty, Country Director of the Asian Development Bank in Vietnam.
Credit rating agency Fitch Ratings has forecast Vietnam’s growth in the medium term at around 7%, with many favorable signs.
Fitch Ratings said Vietnam’s cost competitiveness, educated workforce compared with peers, and entry into numerous regional and global free trade agreements (FTAs) would enable the country to attract the strong FDI inflows, particularly in the context of ongoing global supply chain diversification.
It can be seen that 2023 results were achieved thanks to the Party’s leadership; timely and effective coordination of the National Assembly; flexible and firm direction and management of the Government and Prime Minister; the consensus, trust, and support of the people and the business community. This will be the foundation to complete goals of 2024 and the 2021 - 2025 period./.