Catfish export target to go down due to US tax levy

Photo: Tuoi Tre

Vietnam has cut the earnings forecast for catfish export this year to US$1.35 from the estimation of $1.38 billion in August due to the imposition of anti-dumping tax on the products in the US, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Vietnam catfish export to the US immediately fell after the US Department of Commerce (DOC) announced to raise anti-dumping tariff on the products made by five exporters including Vinh Hoan, Vinh Quang, Agifish, ESS LLC and South Vina to 130 percent last month.

Currently, the average price of the product is around $3.5 – $4 a kilogram as Vietnamese product is enjoying the tariff rate of 0.52 percent.

If the tariff exceeds 100 percent, American customers will have to pay about $7-$8 a kilogram, thus making Vietnamese catfish products much less competitive, Vietnam News Agency quoted Nguyen Huu Dung, Vice President of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors as saying.

Vietnam is one of the biggest catfish exporters in the world, and the annual export of raw material totals 1.2 million tons a year.

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Catfish export target to go down due to US tax levy

Photo: Tuoi Tre

Vietnam has cut the earnings forecast for catfish export this year to US$1.35 from the estimation of $1.38 billion in August due to the imposition of anti-dumping tax on the products in the US, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Vietnam catfish export to the US immediately fell after the US Department of Commerce (DOC) announced to raise anti-dumping tariff on the products made by five exporters including Vinh Hoan, Vinh Quang, Agifish, ESS LLC and South Vina to 130 percent last month.

Currently, the average price of the product is around $3.5 – $4 a kilogram as Vietnamese product is enjoying the tariff rate of 0.52 percent.

If the tariff exceeds 100 percent, American customers will have to pay about $7-$8 a kilogram, thus making Vietnamese catfish products much less competitive, Vietnam News Agency quoted Nguyen Huu Dung, Vice President of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors as saying.

Vietnam is one of the biggest catfish exporters in the world, and the annual export of raw material totals 1.2 million tons a year.

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Export staples join $1b club

HA NOI — With export turnover of more than US$1 billion each by September this year, coal, rubber and steel joined the country's $1 billion club, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

The new additions lifted the number of the country's export staples with turnover of more than $1 billion to 13. The others include garments, footwear, crude oil, seafood, gemstones, wooden products, electrical goods, computers, machinery and vehicles.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Thanh Bien said the increasing cost of many export staples helped raise the country's total export turnover in the first nine months of the year to $51.5 billion, up 23.2 per cent year-on-year.

During the period, around 48 per cent of Viet Nam's exports went to the Asian market, followed by America with 23 per cent and Europe with 22 per cent.

Bien attributed the export growth to the State Bank of Viet Nam's decision to lift the inter-bank rate by 2.1 per cent in August as part of the effort to boost exports and curb the trade deficit.

Industry insiders forecast the trade sector would meet the Government's export target of $61 billion this year, given a number of key export industries including apparel still had fresh orders coming in.

To meet the target, the Ministry of Planning and Investment has asked customs officials to scrutinise current procedures to ease the import of materials for export production.

Besides capitalising on advantages created by Free Trade Agreements, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has also boosted other bilateral and multilateral negotiations to help exporters enlarge their markets. — VNS

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Apparel sector enjoys robust export growth, good prices

Workers at a garment factory in HCMC. Increasing prices of garment and textile products have helped local producers boost exports - Photo: Le Toan

HCMC – The apparel industry has gained robust export growth of over 20% in the January-September period to earn US$8 billion due to good prices and ample orders, and is poised to fulfill its 2010 target of US$10.5 billion, sources said.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade said in a report on Monday that prices of garment and textile exports have increased by 15-20%, making life easier for garment exporters who have faced a surge in input costs including higher materials prices.

Furthermore, shipments to most markets except the slow-moving European market have recovered strongly, according to the report. In particular, the nine-month export revenue of the country’s garment and textile products to Korea had surged a staggering 80%, while that to Japan also increased by 15%.

Recognizing that apparel exports in the January-September period increased 20.6% year-on-year to US$8 billion, experts in the industry predicted that the target of US$10.5 billion in export revenue for this year will be highly obtainable.

The ministry said that although the labor cost in Vietnam is higher than in other nearby countries such as Bangladesh, Cambodia and Myanmar, many foreign buyers still prefer Vietnam’s products because the country’s garment producers can meet their choosy demands.

But many challenges are still ahead, according to the ministry.

These include the lack of laborers hindering garment enterprises from expanding production, the rising prices of imported materials and accessories for the industry, and especially the illegal import of garment and textile products from China stonewalling local enterprises from boosting their local market shares.

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Rubber export seen at US$1.5 billion

HCMC – The nation expects to beat this year’s rubber export target of US$1.5 billion this year given the rising rubber prices on the world market, according to the Vietnam Rubber Association (VRA).

Vietnam in the first nine months of 2010 obtained US$1.42 billion in rubber export revenue.

VRA said that rubber supplies from large exporters were shrinking due to unfavorable weather while rubber demands of China and India remained high. As a result, rubber prices on the global market rocketed to US$3,270 per ton in September, up 250% against the 2009 average figure.

Meanwhile, the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries predicts the rubber output worldwide at around 9.5 million tons this year, increasing by 6.3% against 2009. However, the output will decrease from 2011 as many countries will replant rubber trees and natural rubber prices will stay high then.

China, India and Malaysia are leading rubber importers, accounting for 47% of the total global rubber consumption.

In 2009, Vietnam had the rubber growing area of 640,000 hectares, exported around 680,000 tons worth over US$1.2 billion to 70 markets.

Under the Government’s scheme, Vietnam will grow 800,000 hectares of rubber by 2020, reach the latex output of 1.2 million tons and obtain export value of US$2 billion.

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Garments continue topping list of exports

Posting an export turnover of 8 billion USD in the first nine months of
this year, garments continued taking the lead amongst export staples
since the beginning of 2009.

The export of garments
to the Republic of Korea saw the highest growth rate of 84 percent,
mainly thanks to a reduction in tariff in line with the ASEAN-RoK Free
Trade Agreement, while the export to the US , which accounts for 55
percent of the industry’s revenues, also grew by 20 percent.

In particular, garment exports to the European market have bounced
back in the past three months, at 7 percent, following a long period of
dropping.

Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Garments and
Apparel Association (Vitas) Le Van Dao said a number of domestic garment
companies have received orders for the first half of 2011, plus prices
have risen by 10-15 percent year-on-year.

A
representative of the Ho Chi Minh City-based Viet Hung Garment Joint
Stock Company said the business has recently signed contracts to export
1.2 million items to Japan in early 2011.

Vietnam ’s garment firms will also have the opportunity to boost
exports and investments to Laos and Cambodia as the European Union
(EU) has decided to grant references in terms of material origin to the
two nations.

With these advantages, Dao said the
industry is likely to reach the yearly target of 10.5 billion USD in
export turnover right in November.

To achieve
sustainable development, garment businesses have also paid due attention
to the domestic market by participating in programmes which are
designed to encourage local consumers to use Vietnamese goods and bring
Vietnamese goods to rural areas.

Many supermarkets
under the Vietnam Garment and Textile Group have embarked on plans to
expand foothold in the domestic market in an effort to record a retail
sale growth rate of between 17-20 percent in 2010./.

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Apparel exporters to pass benchmark

The textile and garment sector's export value is expected to earn US$7.5 billion during the first nine months, a 17 percent increase against the same period last year, reports the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association.

The industry is likely to surpass its scheduled $10.5 billion benchmark for the year.

The sector's solid performance is attributed to an increase in orders from foreign clients and the products' prices increased by 15-20 percent.

Export growth to the European market keep stagnant, while other markets remain accelerating during the period.

The country's export to the US market increases around 20 percent and to Japan raises by 15 percent and to ASEAN nations goes up by 17 percent.

Especially, the trade agreement between ASEAN with the Republic of Korea has helped boost Vietnamese garments' export to the market with the sharp increase of 80 percent.

The association reported that many garment makers had so far received enough orders for export this year, and signed contracts for export next year.

However, the association claimed that the early orders may shrink profit of the enterprises amid on-rising prices of input materials, accessories and higher salaries.

To satisfy increasing demand of international contracts, ten companies under the Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex) have recently made production expansion investments to meet increasing orders from foreign partners as well as higher demand at the local market.

The Nha Be Garment Joint stock Co has approved a plan to inject thousands of billions of dong to implement tens of projects on textile, garment, washing and dyeing.

The Dap Cau Garment Joint Stock Co invested nearly VND100 billion ($5.13 million) in a new factory in the northern province of Bac Ninh. It was put into operation in February and has the capacity to produce 9 million products annually.

Nguyen Dang Luan, chairman of Dap Cau Co, said the new facility would help the firm meet the rising number of export contracts.

"When the factory was prepared to begin operating the first 16 production lines the firm had already signed export deals for the whole year with three partners, generating 1,800 jobs," Luan said.

 

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Apparel exporters to pass benchmark

The textile and garment sector's export value is expected to earn 7.5
billion USD during the first nine months, a 17 percent increase against
the same period last year, reports the Vietnam Textile and Apparel
Association.

The industry is likely to surpass its scheduled 10.5 billion USD benchmark for the year.

The sector's solid performance is attributed to an increase in orders
from foreign clients and the products' prices increased by 15-20
percent.

Export growth to the European market keep stagnant, while other markets remain accelerating during the period.

The country's export to the US market increases around 20 percent
and to Japan raises by 15 percent and to ASEAN nations goes up by 17
percent.

Especially, the trade agreement between
ASEAN with the Republic of Korea has helped boost Vietnamese
garments' export to the market with the sharp increase of 80 percent.

The association reported that many garment makers had
so far received enough orders for export this year, and signed contracts
for export next year.

However, the association
claimed that the early orders may shrink profit of the enterprises amid
on-rising prices of input materials, accessories and higher salaries.

To satisfy increasing demand of international
contracts, ten companies under the Vietnam National Textile and Garment
Group (Vinatex) have recently made production expansion investments to
meet increasing orders from foreign partners as well as higher demand at
the local market.

The Nha Be Garment Joint stock Co
has approved a plan to inject thousands of billions of dong to
implement tens of projects on textile, garment, washing and dyeing.

The Dap Cau Garment Joint Stock Co invested nearly 100 billion VND
(5.13 million USD) in a new factory in the northern province of Bac
Ninh. It was put into operation in February and has the capacity to
produce 9 million products annually.

Nguyen Dang
Luan, chairman of Dap Cau Co, said the new facility would help the firm
meet the rising number of export contracts.

"When
the factory was prepared to begin operating the first 16 production
lines the firm had already signed export deals for the whole year with
three partners, generating 1,800 jobs," Luan said./.

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Agro-forestry-seafood exports continue soaring

Photo: Reuters

The , a year-on-year increase of 22.3 agro-forestry-seafood sector earned US$1.75 billion from exports in September, raising its total export turnover in the first nine months of the year to $13.93 billionpercent.

Of the total, agricultural products brought home $7.32 billion, up 21 percent and seafood, $3.47 billion, up 14.2 percent.

Rice topped the list of agro-forestry products in terms of both export volume and value with 5.55 million tons worth $2.56 billion in the nine-month period, representing respective increases of nearly 12 percent and over 14 percent. The prices of Vietnamese rice have come close to those of Thailand , the world’s largest rice exporter.

Several other agricultural products also recorded increases in both export volume and value, including coffee with 925,000 tons, earning over $1.3 billion, up 4.2 percent in volume and nearly 1 percent in value. Germany was Vietnam ’s largest coffee consumer with 13.5 percent of the country’s total export volume, followed by the US with 12.7 percent.

Rubber exports rose only 10.9 percent in volume but saw a double growth in value compared to the same period last year thanks to an 86-percent increase in price. In the first nine months, Vietnam shipped 531,000 tons of rubber, earning $1.45 billion. China was Vietnam’s biggest rubber importer that accounted for over 57 percent of the country’s total export value.

The country’s tea export turnover reached $146 million, soaring 16.7 percent year-on-year while the export volume increased only 4 percent with 100,000 tons. Pakistan was the largest importer of Vietnam ’s tea products, followed by Taiwan and Russia .

Vietnam remained the number one cashew nut exporter in the world. In the reviewed period, the country exported $143,000 tons worth $780 million, up 10 percent in volume and 30 percent in value. Vietnamese cashew nuts were shipped to 50 countries and territories worldwide with the US being the largest consumer, accounting for nearly 34 percent of the country’s total export value.

Pepper saw a decrease of 5.6 percent on volume but its export value was up over 30 percent over last year’s correspondent period with 102,000 tons and $345 million respectively.

Forest products and timber recorded a high export turnover of $2.6 billion. However, the nine-month import turnover of timber material still reached $827 million despite a year-on-year drop of up to 30.9 percent.

Seafood continued to affirm itself as the country’s strategic export item with $3.5 billion in nine-month export turnover. Japan and the US were the two largest consumers of Vietnamese seafood with respective proportions of 18.4 percent and 18 percent.

In the nine-month period, Vietnam imported $9.5 billion worth of materials for agro-forestry-seafood production, up over 27 percent year-on-year.

 

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Export turnover increases 23.2 percent

The country's export turnover reached an estimated US$51.5 billion during the first nine months of the year, an increase of 23.2 percent compared to the same period last year, reported the General Statistics Office.

The domestic sector earned $24.1 billion, a 19.7 percent increase, while the foreign-investment sector fetched $27.35 billion (including crude oil), a 26.5 percent increase.

Export commodities earned more than $1 billion in revenue.

Coffee, cassava and cassava products, and crude oil declined in export turnover in comparison to the same period last year.

The country imported $60.1 billion in commodities during the first nine months, an increase of 22.7 percent compared to the same period last year.

Imported commodities that earned the highest import turnovers included textiles, up 26 percent ($3.84 billion); electronics, computer and computer accessories, 30.6 percent ($3.5 billion); metals, 72.8 percent ($1.8 billion); and plastics, 36 percent ($2.7 billion).

According to the GSO, the trade deficit was restrained to $8.6 billion during the first nine months of the year, which accounted for only 16.7 percent of the total export and import turnover.

The GSO's Commerce Department director Le Minh Thuy said the current trade balance lacked equilibrium as export turnover rose due to inflated prices of several export commodities, including crude oil, cassava, coal, pepper and cashew nuts.

Gold and gold products accounted for a major proportion of export revenues. If the GSO did not include gold exports, the trade deficit during the first nine months of the year would have been $11.4 billion instead of $8.6 billion.

Thuy said tough policies concerning import controls needed to be implemented to ensure the efficient development of the export sector.

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Export turnover increases 23.2 percent

The country's export turnover reached an estimated US$51.5 billion during the first nine months of the year, an increase of 23.2 percent compared to the same period last year, reported the General Statistics Office.

The domestic sector earned $24.1 billion, a 19.7 percent increase, while the foreign-investment sector fetched $27.35 billion (including crude oil), a 26.5 percent increase.

Export commodities earned more than $1 billion in revenue.

Coffee, cassava and cassava products, and crude oil declined in export turnover in comparison to the same period last year.

The country imported $60.1 billion in commodities during the first nine months, an increase of 22.7 percent compared to the same period last year.

Imported commodities that earned the highest import turnovers included textiles, up 26 percent ($3.84 billion); electronics, computer and computer accessories, 30.6 percent ($3.5 billion ); metals, 72.8 percent ($1.8 billion); and plastics, 36 percent ($2.7 billion).

According to the GSO, the trade deficit was restrained to $8.6 billion during the first nine months of the year, which accounted for only 16.7 percent of the total export and import turnover.

The GSO's Commerce Department director Le Minh Thuy said the current trade balance lacked equilibrium as export turnover rose due to inflated prices of several export commodities, including crude oil, cassava, coal, pepper and cashew nuts.

Gold and gold products accounted for a major proportion of export revenues. If the GSO did not include gold exports, the trade deficit during the first nine months of the year would have been $11.4 billion instead of $8.6 billion.

Thuy said tough policies concerning import controls needed to be implemented to ensure the efficient development of the export sector.

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Agro-forestry-seafood exports continue soaring

The agro-forestry-seafood sector earned 1.75 billion USD from exports in
September, raising its total export turnover in the first nine months
of the year to 13.93 billion USD, a year-on-year increase of 22.3
percent.

Of the total, agricultural products
brought home 7.32 billion USD, up 21 percent and seafood, 3.47 billion
USD, up 14.2 percent.

Rice topped the
list of agro-forestry products in terms of both export volume and value
with 5.55 million tonnes worth 2.56 billion USD in the nine-month
period, representing respective increases of nearly 12 percent and over
14 percent. The prices of Vietnamese rice have come close to those of
Thailand , the world’s largest rice exporter.

Several other agricultural products also recorded increases in both
export volume and value, including coffee with 925,000 tonnes, earning
over 1.3 billion USD, up 4.2 percent in volume and nearly 1 percent in
value. Germany was Vietnam ’s largest coffee consumer with 13.5
percent of the country’s total export volume, followed by the US
with 12.7 percent.

Rubber exports rose only 10.9
percent in volume but saw a double growth in value compared to the same
period last year thanks to an 86-percent increase in price. In the first
nine months, Vietnam shipped 531,000 tonnes of rubber, earning 1.45
billion USD. China was Vietnam ’s biggest rubber importer that
accounted for over 57 percent of the country’s total export value.

The country’s tea export turnover reached 146 million USD, soaring
16.7 percent year-on-year while the export volume increased only 4
percent with 100,000 tonnes. Pakistan was the largest importer of
Vietnam ’s tea products, followed by Taiwan and Russia .

Vietnam remained the number one cashew nut exporter in the
world. In the reviewed period, the country exported 143,000 tonnes worth
780 million USD, up 10 percent in volume and 30 percent in value.
Vietnamese cashew nuts were shipped to 50 countries and territories
worldwide with the US being the largest consumer, accounting for
nearly 34 percent of the country’s total export value.

Pepper saw a decrease of 5.6 percent on volume but its export value
was up over 30 percent over last year’s correspondent period with
102,000 tonnes and 345 million USD respectively.

Forest products and timber recorded a high export turnover of 2.6
billion USD. However, the nine-month import turnover of timber material
still reached 827 million USD despite a year-on-year drop of up to 30.9
percent.

Seafood continued to affirm itself as the
country’s strategic export item with 3.5 billion USD in nine-month
export turnover. Japan and the US were the two largest consumers
of Vietnamese seafood with respective proportions of 18.4 percent and 18
percent.

In the nine-month period, Vietnam
imported 9.5 billion USD worth of materials for agro-forestry-seafood
production, up over 27 percent year-on-year./.

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Export turnover increases 23.2%

Packing rice for export at Tien Giang Food Company. The country's export turnover reached an estimated US$51.5 billion during the first nine months of the year, an increase of 23.2 per cent compared with the same period last year, reported the General Statistics Office. — VNA/VNS Photo Dinh Hue

HA NOI—The country's export turnover reached an estimated US$51.5 billion during the first nine months of the year, an increase of 23.2 per cent compared to the same period last year, reported the General Statistics Office.

The domestic sector earned $24.1 billion, a 19.7 per cent increase, while the foreign-investment sector fetched $27.35 billion (including crude oil), a 26.5 per cent increase.

Export commodities earned more than $1 billion in revenue.

Coffee, cassava and cassava products, and crude oil declined in export turnover in comparison to the same period last year.

The country imported $60.1 billion in commodities during the first nine months, an increase of 22.7 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Imported commodities that earned the highest import turnovers included textiles, up 26 per cent ($3.84 billion); electronics, computer and computer accessories, 30.6 per cent ($3.509 billion); metals, 72.8 per cent ($1.832 billion); and plastics, 36 per cent ($2.726 billion).

According to the GSO, the trade deficit was restrained to $8.6 billion during the first nine months of the year, which accounted for only 16.7 per cent of the total export and import turnover.

The GSO's Commerce Department director Le Minh Thuy said the current trade balance lacked equilibrium as export turnover rose due to inflated prices of several export commodities, including crude oil, cassava, coal, pepper and cashew nuts.

Gold and gold products accounted for a major proportion of export revenues. If the GSO did not include gold exports, the trade deficit during the first nine months of the year would have been $11.4 billion instead of $8.6 billion.

Thuy said tough policies concerning import controls needed to be implemented to ensure the efficient development of the export sector. —VNS

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North in deficit as south runs surplus

Hanoi's trade deficit reaches nearly US$10 billion, while Ho Chi Minh City reaps a trade surplus of about $300 million in the first nine months of this year, statistics offices in the two cities stated.

In Hanoi, the trade deficit almost doubles the export value, the statistics office reports, adding that in the first nine months of this year, the city is expected to earn an export revenue of $5.5 billion, a year-on-year increase of 19.5 percent.

Meanwhile, the import value rises by 18.2 percent to $15.5 billion.

In September alone, Hanoi's trade gap is predicted to hit $1.08 billion, up $70 million over August. Export revenue is expected to drop 0.3 percent against the previous month to $680 million, while import turnover is expected to rise 1.3 percent to $1.76 billion.

“It is easy to understand why Hanoi has a big trade gap. It is a large developing city with a high demand for machinery, equipment, accessories and materials for construction projects," said an official from the statistics office's trade section.

She, however, added that in the first nine months of the year, huge sums are spent on imported luxury goods such as cars, wine, cigarettes and interior furnishings.

The Hanoi Statistics Office earlier forecast that the capital would suffer a trade deficit of $13.8 billion in 2010, with exports earning just $7.6 billion and imports $21.4 billion.

From January to September 2010, HCMC's import turnover is estimated to reach nearly $15.5 billion, a year-on-year increase of 12.6 percent. Its export value is predicted to reach $15.8 billion, representing a year-on-year increase of just 1 percent.

In the coming months, export turnover should rise as market demand would typically rise in the last months of the year, the city's Statistics Office stated. Although HCMC experiences a trade surplus, the office reports that exporters are encountering persistent difficulties.

Officials said the price of raw materials is increasing, which would affect exporters' competitiveness. They also said the city is suffering a shortage of skilled workers and that some industries are facing material shortages, both of which are hitting exports.

In September alone, the city's export revenue month-on-month drops 9.7 percent to $1.7 billion.

Meanwhile, the decrease in gold and crude export volumes also contributed to the fall in the city's total export value, officials said.

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North in deficit as south runs surplus

Hanoi's trade deficit reaches nearly 10 billion USD, while HCM City
reaps a trade surplus of about 300 million USD in the first nine months
of this year, statistics offices in the two cities stated.

In Hanoi, the trade deficit almost doubles the export value, the
statistics office reports, adding that in the first nine months of this
year, the city is expected to earn an export revenue of 5.5 billion USD,
a year-on-year increase of 19.5 percent.

Meanwhile, the import value rises by 18.2 percent to 15.5 billion USD.

In September alone, Hanoi's trade gap is predicted to hit 1.08 billion
USD, up 70 million USD over August. Export revenue is expected to drop
0.3 percent against the previous month to 680 million USD, while import
turnover is expected to rise 1.3 percent to 1.76 billion USD.

“It is easy to understand why Hanoi has a big trade gap. It is a large
developing city with a high demand for machinery, equipment,
accessories and materials for construction projects," said an official
from the statistics office's trade section.

She,
however, added that in the first nine months of the year, huge sums are
spent on imported luxury goods such as cars, wine, cigarettes and
interior furnishings.

The Hanoi Statistics Office
earlier forecast that the capital would suffer a trade deficit of 13.8
billion USD in 2010, with exports earning just 7.6 billion USD and
imports 21.4 billion USD.

From January to September
2010, HCM City's import turnover is estimated to reach nearly 15.5
billion USD, a year-on-year increase of 12.6 percent. Its export value
is predicted to reach 15.8 billion USD, representing a year-on-year
increase of just 1 percent.

In the coming months,
export turnover should rise as market demand would typically rise in the
last months of the year, the city's Statistics Office stated. Although
HCM City experiences a trade surplus, the office reports that exporters
are encountering persistent difficulties.

Officials
said the price of raw materials is increasing, which would affect
exporters' competitiveness. They also said the city is suffering a
shortage of skilled workers and that some industries are facing material
shortages, both of which are hitting exports.

In September alone, the city's export revenue month-on-month drops 9.7 percent to 1.7 billion USD.

Meanwhile, the decrease in gold and crude export volumes also
contributed to the fall in the city's total export value, officials
said./.

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North in deficit as south runs surplus

HA NOI — Ha Noi's trade deficit reached nearly US$10 billion, while HCM City reaped a trade surplus of about $300 million in the first nine months of this year, statistics offices in the two cities stated.

In Ha Noi, the trade deficit doubled in export value, the statistics office reported, adding that in the first nine months of this year, the city was expected to earn an export revenue of $5.5 billion, a year-on-year increase of 19.5 per cent. Meanwhile, the import value rose by 18.2 per cent to $15.5 billion.

In September alone, Ha Noi's trade gap waspredicted to hit $1.08 billion, up $70 million over August. Export revenue was expected to drop 0.3 per cent against the previous month to $680 million, while import turnover was expected to rise 1.3 per cent to $1.76 billion.

"It is easy to understand why Ha Noi has a big trade gap. It is a large developing city with a high demand for machinery, equipment, accessories and materials for construction projects," said an official from the statistics office's trade section.

In the first nine months of the year, huge sums were spent on imported luxury goods such as cars, wine, cigarettes and interior furnishings, she said.

The Ha Noi Statistics Office earlier forecast that the capital would suffer a trade deficit of $13.8 billion in 2010, with exports earning just $7.6 billion and imports $21.4 billion.

From January to September 2010, HCM City's import turnover is estimated to reach nearly $15.5 billion, a year-on-year increase of 12.6 per cent. Its export value is predicted to reach $15.8 billion, representing a year-on-year increase of just 1 per cent.

In the coming months, export turnover should rise as market demand would typically rise in the last months of the year, the city's Statistics Office stated. Although HCM City experienced a trade surplus, the office reported that exporters were encountering persistent difficulties.

Officials said the price of raw materials was increasing, which would affect exporters' competitiveness. They also said the city was suffering a shortage of skilled workers and that some industries were facing material shortages, both of which were hitting exports.

In September alone, the city's export revenue month-on-month dropped 9.7 per cent to $1.7 billion. — VNS

Meanwhile, the decrease in gold and crude export volumes also contributed to the fall in the city's total export value, officials said. — VNS

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Apparel makers expand production

Domestic garment makers are expanding production to meet rising domestic and global demands. A production line at Minh Dao Garment Company in Ninh Binh Province. — VNA/VNS Photo Tran Viet

HA NOI — Ten companies under the Viet Nam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex) have made production expansion investments to meet increasing orders from foreign partners and rising domestic demand.

The Dap Cau Garment Joint Stock Co invested nearly VND100 billion (US$5.13 million) in a new factory in the northern province of Bac Ninh. It was put into operation in February and has the capacity to produce 9 million products annually.

Nguyen Dang Luan, chairman of Dap Cau Co said the new facility would help the firm meet the rising number of export contracts.

"When the factory was prepared to begin operating the first 16 production lines the firm had already signed export deals for the whole year with three partners, generating 1,800 jobs," Luan said.

The TNG Trade and Investment Co in the northern province of Thai Nguyen recently invested around VND210 billion to construct its fourth facility. The new TNG Phu Binh garment factory has a design capacity for 10 million products annually and the potential for 4,000 jobs.

The company expects the mill to be operational by the first quarter next year with 64 production lines which will bring the company's total number of lines to 172, making it one of the largest textile and garment makers in the country.

The chairman and director general of TNG Co, Nguyen Van Thoi, said textile and garment orders had shifted from China to Viet Nam. Trends have also shown orders shifting from the South to the North of the country due to more advantages in terms of labour forces.

The firm made the decision to build the new factory because its customers were well-known brands from the US and Canada such as Columbia Sportswear, The Children's Place and Capital. These partners had committed to signing long-term contracts and asked TNG to increase production, Thoi said.

"TNG plans to intensively bolster its investment so that it can produce various kinds of products from raw materials to final products in order to meet higher overseas contract requirements by 2015," he said.

Nha Be Garment Joint Stock Co has 33 affiliates and subsidiaries with $240 million in annual export turnover. Last year, despite being faced with many difficulties caused by the global economic crisis, Nha Be still approved a plan to inject trillions of dong in multiple projects.

Of the total, Nha Be invested more than VND200 billion to expand two projects – An Nhon Garment Joint Stock Co, which produces women's suits and sportswear, and Tam Quan Garment Joint Stock Co, which produces trousers, jackets, and T-shirts. Both expanded projects are expected to launch late this month.

Duong Thi Ngoc Dung, chairwoman of Nha Be, said the expansion would help her enterprise increase its export revenue by 20-25 per cent this year over last year and reach stronger export growth next year.

Nha Be will also begin construction of the Nha Be – Tam Quan clean industrial zone and the Phu Cat complex on production, trade and services later this month.

To ensure sustainable development of the textile and garment industry, large firms should closely co-ordinate with one another to make bold investments in weaving, dyeing and raw materials to shift from implementing sub-contracts to direct contracts, said experts.

In the first eight months of this year, the sector reached a total export value of $6.9 billion, a year-on-year increase of 17.8 per cent, making it the country's biggest foreign currency earner.

In addition, producers also managed to enhance sales in the domestic market. Le Quoc An, chairman of the Viet Nam Textile and Apparel Association said member companies had reached a 15-18 per cent growth domestically. — VNS

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Firms fail to meet export orders due to labour shortage

Enterprises in HCMC's export processing and industrial zones are struggling to complete increasing orders because they are short of workers.

Textile, footwear, electronic assembly and seafood processing establishments typically receive more orders towards the end of the year.

Nguyen Thanh Tung, director of the Job Opportunity Centre under the HCMC Export Processing Zones Authority (HEPZA), said enterprises needed 49,000 workers from now until the end of the year, but the centre can only meet 70 percent of this demand.

Around 300 enterprises in textile, footwear and electronic assembly are facing severe labour shortages. The Tan Thuan export processing zone alone needs 10,000 workers badly.

Besides non-skilled labour, enterprises are also having difficulties in finding suitable candidates for middle management positions, from commercial to production ones.

"The middle management force accounts for 10 percent of recruitment needs and despite the low level of scarcity; there is aggressive competition between enterprises," Tung said.

Tung said that to improve the situation that has been a constant headache for enterprises in recent years, Hepza will only accept new projects that deploy high technology, especially in mechanical, electrical and electronics.

Experts have said that enterprises need to effect changes in their salary policies, improve other working conditions and apply technological innovations.

The demand for labour is expected to rise with the city planning to build seven new IZs and expand existing IZs to cover an additional area of 3,000ha.

Furthermore, the city also faces stiff competition from neighbouring provinces which have also opened new IZs. HCMC now has three export processing zones and 10 industrial zones with 1,200 projects that employ 252,000 workers.

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Firms fail to meet export orders due to labour shortage

Enterprises in HCM City's export processing and industrial zones are struggling to complete increasing orders because they are short of workers.

Textile, footwear, electronic assembly and seafood processing establishments typically receive more orders towards the end of the year.   

Nguyen Thanh Tung, director of the Job Opportunity Centre under the HCM City Export Processing Zones Authority (HEPZA), said enterprises needed 49,000 workers from now until the end of the year, but the centre can only meet 70 percent of this demand.   

Around 300 enterprises in textile, footwear and electronic assembly are facing severe labour shortages. The Tan Thuan export processing zone alone needs 10,000 workers badly.   

Besides non-skilled labour, enterprises are also having difficulties in finding suitable candidates for middle management positions, from commercial to production ones.   

"The middle management force accounts for 10 percent of recruitment needs and despite the low level of scarcity; there is aggressive competition between enterprises," Tung said.   

Tung said that to improve the situation that has been a constant headache for enterprises in recent years, Hepza will only accept new projects that deploy high technology, especially in mechanical, electrical and electronics.   

Experts have said that enterprises need to effect changes in their salary policies, improve other working conditions and apply technological innovations.   

The demand for labour is expected to rise with the city planning to build seven new IZs and expand existing IZs to cover an additional area of 3,000ha.   

Furthermore, the city also faces stiff competition from neighbouring provinces which have also opened new IZs.   HCM   City   now has three export processing zones and 10 industrial zones with 1,200 projects that employ 252,000 workers./.

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Ministry says trade deficit uder check

HANOI – The Ministry of Industry and Trade is confident that the country’s target to keep trade deficit under 20% of the export value this year is well within reach given the strong export growth in the year to date.

Vu Van Chinh, head of the ministry’s Import-Export Department, told an online review meeting on Monday that “keeping trade deficit at less than 20% of the total export value this year is highly probable unless there occur sharp changes in the rest of the year.”

Export value in the January-August period increased by 19.7% year-on-year to US$44.85 billion, while import expenditure in the period totaled US$52.67 billion, leaving a trade deficit equivalent to 18.32% of export earnings, Chinh said.

Trade deficit stood at US$0.9 billion in August, which is the fourth straight month the deficit is kept below the bar, according to Chinh.

Therefore, “the trade deficit target is within reach if there are no upsurges in imports due to speculation on commodities,” he remarked.

Chinh predicted that exports would remain upbeat in the rest of the year, and the total export value for 2010 would likely hit US$68.5 billion if more efforts are made to keep monthly export revenue at US$5.9 billion. Import spending is estimated at US$80-82 billion.

However, Chinh also pointed out that challenges remained to be addressed, including the lack of materials for export processing in the fishery sector, the shortage of labor in the garment, footwear and furniture industries, and technical barriers in importing countries.

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