Vietnam News Today (Sep. 17): Vietnam Remains World's Second Biggest Coffee Exporter

Vietnamese Ambassador to Thailand Phan Chi Thanh (L) and Governor of Bangkok Chadchart Sittipunt. Photo: VNA

Vietnam, Thailand boost locality-to-locality cooperation

Vietnamese Ambassador to Thailand Phan Chi Thanh paid a courtesy call to Governor of Bangkok Chadchart Sittipunt on September 15 to discuss promoting locality-to-locality cooperation.

Ambassador Thanh expressed his delight at the development of bilateral ties in various areas over the past 46 years. Thailand is now the biggest ASEAN trade partner of Vietnam. As of June 2022, Thailand was the ninth biggest investor out of 140 countries and territories investing in Vietnam with over 600 valid projects worth more than US$13 billion.

He noted that the two countries will celebrate the 10th anniversary of their bilateral strategic partnership next year.

The governor spoke highly of Vietnam’s rapid developments in recent years with abundant and skilled workforce. A number of Thai enterprises are investing in Vietnam in the fields of energy, agriculture, retail and real estate, cited VNA.

Host and guest agreed to facilitate the resumption of visits and collaboration in economy, trade, investment promotion, tourism, cultural exchange, education and people-to-people exchange between Bangkok and its Vietnamese twinning localities such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and the central province of Thua Thien-Hue, as well as other Vietnamese localities.

Both sides pledged to work to promote ties between major Vietnamese cities such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and Bangkok via co-chairing conferences and seminars to share experience in urban transportation management, flooding prevention, air pollution and water salinisation.

Ambassador Thanh expressed readiness to connect Bangkok with Vietnamese localities to boost bilateral ties in the near future.

Vietnam remains world's second biggest coffee exporter

Vietnamese coffee has been exported to more than 80 countries and territories globally, making the country the second biggest exporter in the world, with a market share of 14.2%.

Photo: VOV

The nation exported a total of 112,531 tonnes of coffee worth US$266 million in August, down 4% in volume but up 13% in value, reported the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

On an eight-month calculation, Vietnam brought home US$2.8 billion from exporting 1.2 million tonnes of coffee, up 40% in value and 11% in volume year-on-year, respectively, according to VOV.

Coffee is one of the six key currency earners with an annual revenue of more than US$3 billion. Its major markets are Europe, the US, Russia, Japan and the UK. In Europe, Vietnam is the second biggest coffee supplier with a market share of 16.1%, behind Brazil with 22.2%.

Vietnam is currently home to 97 coffee bean processing plants with an annual capacity of 1.5 million tonnes, 160 coffee roasting, 8 instant coffee and 11 coffee blending facilities.

Vietnam’s efforts to promote children’s rights hailed by UN committee

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) has appreciated the dialogue and measures taken by Vietnam in the protection and promotion of children’s rights.

Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Thi Ha led the Vietnamese delegation to engage in a dialogue with CRC members on Vietnam’s implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child on September 12-13 in Geneva, Switzerland.

The dialogue was held within the framework of the CRC’s 91st session, and on the basis of Vietnam’s submission of its fifth and sixth periodic country reports and a report answering the committee’s related questions.

Illustrative image. Photo: giadinhmoi.vn

In an interview to VNA reporters in Geneva, Ha said that during the 91st session, CRC highly valued Vietnam’s thorough preparations for these reports and welcomed its achievements in the building of laws and policies as well as the measures taken by it related to children’s rights.

After this session, Vietnam will have from four to five years to carry out the committee’s recommendations, she said, adding that her ministry will work with relevant ministries and sectors to analyse the recommendations and build an action programme to submit to the Prime Minister for approval, reported VNA.

Dang Hoa Nam, Director of the Department of Child Protection and Care, said that the CRC appreciated Vietnam's progress in building and amending laws, especially the 2016 Children Law, the government's efforts to combine economic development with social and sustainable development. The CRC also showed interest in newly emerging issues related to children's rights in the context of new changes like climate change or global economic depression.

The official stressed that Vietnam’s active participation in the committee’s dialogue mechanism and its implementation of recommendations are of significance for the implementation of children’s rights in Vietnam, which he said demonstrates that Vietnam is an active and responsible member in the enforcement of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. During the process, Vietnam is able to share with CRC members and other countries its experience and learn form international experience to better perform in the field.

On November 20, 1989, the UN General Assembly adopted the International Convention on the Rights of the Child. Vietnam is one of the first countries in the world to sign and ratify this convention (the country signed the convention on January 26, 1990 and ratified on February 28, 1990).

Shift of supply chain offers opportunities for Vietnamese enterprises

The wave of supply chain shifts is taking place strongly, forcing enterprises to innovate and improve their competitiveness in order to quickly embrace this trend.

Sharing at a seminar entitled “Supply chain shift - opportunities for Vietnamese enterprises” held in Binh Duong Province on September 15, experts said that with the strong shift in the global supply chain, many multinational corporations have stepped up their investment in Vietnam.

Delegates attend the seminar. Photo: NDO

The trend contributes to the formation of a panorama with many great opportunities and challenges for Vietnamese enterprises. However, the problem now is how to seize the opportunity and help domestic enterprises participate in the global supply chain.

Delegates also discussed issues such as linkage between enterprises, supporting policies, criteria and conditions for linkages between enterprises, the training of skilled human resources, technology, and more, with the aim to support Vietnamese enterprises in joining the global supply chain, cited NDO.

They also forecast the upcoming market trends, the planning of the region, the effective exploitation of the land fund, and the preparation of infrastructure, materials, logistics, and linkages to create conditions for the formation of industrial clusters and clusters of industry linkages within and between localities.

The seminar also posed the problem of how to promote the coordination and unity mechanism among other localities in the region, including Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Ba Ria - Vung Tau, and other neighbouring localities, to make the full use of the potentials and advantages of the southern key economic region.

The event was jointly held by Binh Duong Provincial People’s Committee, the Vietnam Industry Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade and Tuoi Tre Newspaper.

Vietnamese economy continues recovery amid economic uncertainties

Vietnam’s economic recovery has continued despite heightened economic uncertainties in relation to higher global inflation coupled with weakened economic growth in main trade partners, according to the September edition of the World Bank (WB)’s monthly Vietnam Macro Monitoring.

According to details in the report, industrial production and retail sales posted another month of high growth rates of 15.6% on-year and 50.2% on-year, with this mostly driven by the low-base effects related to the COVID-19 lockdowns in August, 2021.

Month-on-month growth was recorded in terms of retail sales moderated in July and August after a strong Q2 recovery in 2022. Exports and imports grew by 22.6% on-year and 13.3% on-year in August, respectively, higher than in July.

Vietnam’s economic recovery continues despite heightened economic uncertainties. Photo: moit.gov.vn

FDI commitments reflect caution among investors in the face of global uncertainty, while FDI disbursement continued to improve, thereby contributing to a positive trend over an 11-month period. CPI inflation changed from 3.1% on-year in July to 2.9% in August thanks to softening fuel prices, while core inflation continued to accelerate from 2.6% in July to 3.1% in August due to the second-round effects of previous increases in commodity prices impacting productions costs and final prices. Credit growth remained strong at 16.2% on-year, while overnight interbank interest rates for the end of period increased from 0.71% in June to 4.19% in July and 4.42% in August.

This can partly be put down to mismatches of lower domestic deposits caused by low deposit rates and high demand for domestic credits, with banks competing in the interbank market for funds. It can also be partly due to SBV sales of some reserves over the past few months aimed at stabilising the Vietnam Dong against a strengthening US Dollar, thus tightening domestic liquidity, VOV reported.

The budget registered an eighth month surplus, with the Government not borrowing much in the domestic market and Government-guaranteed bond issuance equaling to only 27.4% of the plan in the first eight months of the year, less than a half of the borrowing seen a year ago.

WB experts assessed that economic recovery has continued despite heightened economic uncertainties regarding higher global inflation and weakening economic growth in main trade partners. The authorities therefore recommended a need to remain vigilant regarding inflation risks associated with food and core prices, while fuel prices have softened recently, global fuel price movements remain uncertain.

Think tanks analysed that incentivising alternative energy production and use would reduce the economy’s dependence on imported fuels and promote greener growth.

Furthermore, strengthening the social support system, including its registration, targeting, and disbursement systems, would facilitate reaching affected citizens during such shocks.

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