On March 31, 2023, the Ministry of Industry and Trade organized a trade promotion conference with the Vietnam Trade Office system abroad in March 2023. This is the 9th conference to take place monthly from July 2022. Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien attended and gave a directive speech at the Conference.
This conference aims to evaluate Vietnam's trade promotion and import-export situation with foreign markets in the first quarter of 2023, while updating export market information and discussing solutions. solutions to improve the efficiency of Vietnam's foreign trade activities in the coming time.
The conference attracted over 400 delegates from agencies under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Trade Offices, Trade Branches, Vietnam Trade Promotion Offices abroad, Department of Industry and Trade, Department of Agriculture and Rural Development , Industry associations, businesses and news agencies, press... register to attend.
The conference took place in person in Hanoi combined online on the Zoom platform and Facebook fanpage of the Department of Trade Promotion, to create favorable conditions for a large number of delegates from Vietnamese Trade Offices abroad. , agencies and businesses from 63 provinces and cities across the country are interested in attending.
Focus on market development
Speaking at the opening of the conference, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien said that entering 2023, the world economic situation and Vietnam in particular will tend to decline due to high inflation and reduced aggregate demand globally. world. Some raw material supply chains are increasingly negatively affected by this crisis. China and some major economies have also reopened, so competition with Vietnam's exports is increasingly fierce. In addition, the failure of a number of large banks in the US and Switzerland has recently affected the global financial market. In the country, there are a number of banks operating very difficult and being included in special control area. Corporate bonds encounter problems, making it difficult for businesses to access capital.
However, from the beginning of the year until now, the country's economy has a growth rate of 3,32% (down over the same period). Total retail sales and service revenue increased by 13.9%, a high increase compared to the same period last year. Thus, the domestic market achieved relatively good results but the economic growth rate slowed down. Import-export in the first 3 months of the year reached 154.3 billion USD, down 13.9% but trade surplus reached 4.07 billion USD, an increase of more than 2 times compared to the same period in 2022 (1.9 billion USD).
The Minister further informed that, in response to the issues raised, at the regular meeting in March and the first 3 months of the year, the Government agreed on 3 basic tasks to promote the country's economic growth. Specifically, on the one hand, promote the development of foreign markets; Focus on strongly developing the domestic market through stimulating consumption, connecting trade, building product brands, promoting e-commerce development to work with foreign markets to solve output for industries. manufacture; In addition, promoting production through the task of promoting public investment, removing difficulties for businesses with tax policies, supporting access to raw materials, developing markets, and supporting procedures in operations. of business.
To contribute to the implementation of the above task, at the Conference, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien asked delegates to focus on discussion to first assess the situation, causes, especially subjective causes to find solutions. overcome the current situation, regaining the growth momentum of goods exports at least equal to the same period in 2022. Second, the Trade Offices focus on forecasting the economic situation of the host country, thereby providing policy responses. needed to advise the Ministry and Government to ensure the interests of the nation and businesses. Third, propose policies and solutions from the Government, local business associations, businesses and producers to make the best use of free trade agreements, especially new generation agreements that contribute part in promoting exports and domestic production.
The Conference program for March 2023 includes 2 main sessions: Session 1 of the Conference is for representatives of Trade Offices in Vietnam's important and potential export markets from 05 continents (Europe, America, Asia, Africa, Oceania) including the Netherlands, the Russian Federation, the United States, Mexico, China, India, Australia, and South Africa, the discussion focuses on 03 content groups, specifically: Assessing the market situation market and clearly point out the causes, especially subjective causes affecting trade relations with Vietnam to find effective solutions to improve trade; Assess and forecast the economic situation of countries (regions) under the responsibility of the Trade Office, especially the policies of recent countries and the required policy responses of Vietnam; Propose guidelines, policies, and solutions from the government, localities, businesses, and domestic producers.
Session 2 of the Conference is for local representatives (Department of Industry and Trade of Binh Thuan province) and industry associations (Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers, Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association, Vietnam Fruits and Vegetables) discussed the difficulties and advantages for trade promotion and import-export activities in the first quarter of 2023 and forecast the situation in the coming time, proposing the need for support from Vietnamese Trade Offices abroad for the implementation of trade promotion activities, import and export of goods with foreign markets in the coming time.
Implement many trade promotion activities
According to data from the General Statistics Office, merchandise export turnover in March 2023 is estimated to reach 29.57 billion USD, an increase of 13.5% compared to the previous month and a decrease of 14.8% compared to the same period last year. Overall, in the first quarter of 2023, merchandise export turnover is estimated at 79.17 billion USD, down 11.9% compared to the same period last year.
Import turnover of goods in March 2023 is estimated at 28.92 billion USD, an increase of 24.4% compared to the previous month and a decrease of 11.1% compared to the same period last year. In the first quarter of 2023, the import turnover of goods is estimated at 75.1 billion USD, down 14.7% compared to the same period last year.
Regarding the export and import market of goods in the first quarter of 2023, the United States is Vietnam's largest export market with an estimated turnover of 20.6 billion USD. China is Vietnam's largest import market with an estimated turnover of 23.6 billion USD.
The trade balance of goods in March 2023 is estimated to have a trade surplus of 0.65 billion USD. In the first quarter of 2023, the trade balance of goods is estimated to have a trade surplus of 4.07 billion USD (same period last year, trade surplus of 1.9 billion USD).
Update information about the US market - Commercial Counselor Do Ngoc Hung said that 2022 and the first 2 months of 2023 are a period when the world economy in general and the US market area in particular will face many difficulties. and advantages are intertwined. However, in general, goods trade between Vietnam and the United States basically maintains growth momentum, making an important contribution to Vietnam's trade surplus. Vietnam - US economic and trade relations not only focus on exploiting traditional markets, expanding new and potential markets/products, but also on protecting the interests of businesses of the two countries. , limit negative impacts, remove tariff and non-tariff barriers; In addition, handle cases related to food hygiene and safety regulations; Support Vietnamese businesses to respond appropriately to trade defense measures recently applied by the United States.
According to data from the US Bureau of Statistics, as of January 2023, Vietnam is the 9th largest trading partner of the United States (after countries such as Mexico, Canada, China, Japan, Germany, South Korea, India, UK) with total import-export turnover in January reaching about 9.9 billion USD, down 6.7% compared to the same period in 2022 and accounting for 2.4% of total import-export turnover of the United States. Vietnam's exports to the United States reached 9.23 billion USD; Imports from the United States reached 733.8 million USD, down 4.7% over the same period in 2022, the trade deficit was at 9.1 billion USD, ranking third after China and Mexico. In terms of exports, Vietnam ranks 6th in total export turnover to the United States, accounting for 3.7% of total US imports from partners (remaining the same position compared to the same period in 2022).
Regarding the Canadian market, Commercial Counselor Tran Thu Quynh said that in the context of a relatively gloomy world market, Canada is still a bright spot thanks to a quite positive market outlook. Canada is the country with the highest growth rate in the G7 bloc, maintaining job growth and controlling inflation, thanks to which the region's import demand remains high. According to local data, Vietnam's exports to the area still increased by 20% compared to the same period last year, being the country with the highest export growth rate in Asean to the area. The group of 10 key products from Vietnam to Canada still maintains high growth rates, except for seafood products, which decreased by 26%.
However, according to Ms. Tran Thu Quynh, Vietnam's export prospects to the area may be affected by many difficulties, both objective and subjective. Canada participates in many bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements, so there are many competitors with the same products and tariff advantages, so Vietnamese goods are easily replaced even after entering the market. be marketed. The "Buy local" movement to reduce the carbon footprint of consumption, which is strongly supported in Canada, is also becoming a new form of increased protection.
In addition to sharing market information, industry prospects and risks, representatives of the Canadian Trade Office also shared information about Canada's policies, budget plans and plans to develop legal documents in the future. areas that can affect businesses and prospects for economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.
According to the Department of Trade Promotion, it is forecast that the international situation in the coming time will still be complicated. Developed countries are increasingly concerned about consumer safety issues, sustainable development, combating climate change and setting up new standards and regulations related to supply chains and clean raw materials. , labor, environment for imported products; Some countries plan to impose additional regulations on imported goods such as carbon fees, recycled content requirements for imported goods, etc.; The economic policies of some countries continue to have a significant impact on countries heavily dependent on exports like Vietnam, directly affecting the production and export of a number of key products such as electricity. electronics, textiles, footwear, wooden furniture in the near future...
Faced with that situation, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has seriously implemented the direction of the Government and the Prime Minister, closely following the international and domestic situation, closely forecasting the situation from the end of 2022 and implementing many solutions such as: Organize conferences to promote domestic production and consumption and expand export markets; Connecting supply and demand between Vietnamese manufacturing enterprises and foreign suppliers through trade promotion channels and the Vietnam Trade Office system abroad; Support information in each export market, maintain traditional markets; Removing barriers to penetrate new export markets; Deploying many activities and solutions to stimulate domestic consumption, connect product consumption... In which, trade promotion conferences with the Vietnam Trade Office system abroad is one of the activities. The Ministry of Industry and Trade focuses on implementing it continuously on a monthly basis, has become a forum to connect and update useful foreign market information, and at the same time make many recommendations on trade promotion and market development. practical export market of the Vietnam Trade Office system abroad for government agencies, localities and domestic businesses.
Source: Ministry of Industry and Trade
