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HEADLINES

Webinar “Gateway to Vietnam”

The Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in cooperation with Embassy of Vietnam and Vietnam Trade Office in Sweden, concurrently Latvia, invites entrepreneurs to an export webinar “Gateway to Vietnam” on April 9 from 10.00 to 11.30 (Latvian time).

The webinar will offer updated information on the current trade and investment ties between Latvia and Vietnam, highlighting key aspects of conducting business in Vietnam. Latvian business executives will also discuss their firsthand experiences in the country.

Speakers:

• H.E. Mr. Tuan Van Tran, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Vietnam in the Kingdom of Sweden and Latvia
• Mr. Thai Hoang Luong, Director General of Multilateral Trade Policy Department, Ministry of Industry and Trade
• Mr. Kristaps Strelis, Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry representative in Vietnam
• Entrepreneurs’ experience stories

Participation conditions: free of charge

Working language: English

Be sure to register before April 8th by visiting https://ej.uz/VIETNAM_9_04_2024

Contact person: Natalija Juskova, Deputy Director of Foreign Affairs at LCCI, [email protected]

EXPORT-IMPORT Until 2024 February

Sweden exports to Vietnam

Sweden imports from Vietnam

Denmark exports to Vietnam

Denmark imports from Vietnam

Norway exports to Vietnam

Norway imports from Vietnam

OTHER NEWS

Vietnam & Sweden: 55 years of diplomatic relations

Vietnam Economic Times (VET) / VnEconomy recently conducted an interview with Mr. Håkan Jevrell, the visiting State Secretary to the Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade of Sweden.

The 55 years of diplomatic relations being established between Vietnam and Sweden since January 11, 1969 represent a historical milestone of great interest.

On this occasion, Mr. Hakan Jevrell, State Secretary to the Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade of Sweden, is paying an official three-day visit to Vietnam from March 11-13, to boost bilateral trade and investment cooperation between the two countries.

He will tour facilities at the Vietnam National Innovation Center in Hanoi to gain insights into Vietnam’s innovation ecosystem and explore areas of potential for future collaboration. A meeting with Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan is also scheduled, to discuss opportunities in sectors such as energy.

On March 12, Mr. Jevrell will take part in a CEO conference hosted by Swedish bank SEB and deliver a keynote address. He will also meet with Vietnam Airlines to encourage direct air links between Vietnam and Sweden, and other meetings are also scheduled with senior economists and representatives from international financial institutions on Vietnam’s economic outlook.

His itinerary also includes a bilateral meeting with Vice Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Duy Dong, to explore the prospects for partnerships in innovation, and he will also meet with staff at the Swedish Embassy and conduct media interviews.

Both countries aim to lift annual bilateral trade and attract significant Swedish investment into Vietnam. The visit underscores Sweden and Vietnam’s commitment to deepening their partnership across trade, investment, and other areas for mutual benefit.

Cashew firms enhance processing to add value to exports

Cashew processing businesses have in recent years invested in modern machinery and equipment for intensive processing and adding more value to their products, according to insiders.

Hoàng Sơn 1 JSC, one of Việt Nam’s leading processors and exporters of the nut, has, for instance, invested a huge amount of money to build a modern plant.
According to its chairman, Tạ Quang Huyên, the plant is equipped with state-of-the-art processing technologies to ensure products meet strict new international standards.

Its highly processed items include roasted and salted cashew with skin, wood fire roasted, wood fire roasted and salted, roasted, and flavoured cashews, and are exported to markets such as Japan, China and the Middle East.

Highly processed items accounted for 30-40 per cent of its export revenue last year, and the company would focus more on deep processing and expanding its portfolio of processed items and increasing their proportion of exports, he said.

“Highly processed products offer high value and thus better profit margins compared to semi-processed products.”

Another leading firm that has succeeded in producing and exporting highly processed cashew products is Long Sơn JSC.

Vũ Thái Sơn, its chairman, said demand for highly processed cashew is on the rise, and countries that have free trade agreements with Việt Nam have waived tariffs on processed cashew.

So his company has stepped up investment in production of highly processed and high-quality cashew and embraced green transformation and social and environmental responsibility to meet the increasingly stringent requirements of buyers, thereby getting better than market prices, he said.

He said last year it was quite successful in exporting to China products such as roasted and salted, chili garlic, spiced, sesame, and honey cashews.

It also sells directly to large supermarket systems such as Walmart and others around the world.

Việt Nam has been accounting for a whopping 80 per cent of global exports for the last 16 years, but they have mainly been of semi-processed items of low value, according to insiders.

Speeding up intensive processing and export of highly processed products would help raise the country’s profile in the international market and open up opportunities for Vietnamese businesses to export under their own brands, they said.

Brighter outlook

After decreasing in both export volume and value terms in 2022, cashew exports recovered in 2023 with 641,000 tonnes of kernels exported for US$3.63 billion, year-on-year increases of 23 per cent and 17 per cent.

In January nearly 64,000 tonnes worth $339 million have been exported, up 137 per cent and 125 per cent year-on-year, creating high hopes for prospects this year, according to cashew firms.

Phùng Văn Sâm, president of Hanfimex Group, a producer and exporter of foods and spices, said the global cashew market is expected to grow by an average of 4.6 per cent a year in 2022-27.

“The global trend favouring vegetarian and plant-based diets has driven demand for various nuts and processed nut-based foods, including cashew, and the current low price of cashew nuts will help promote consumption of this healthy product.”

Joseph Lang, managing director of Kenkko (UK), one of Europe’s largest buyers, also expressed optimism about the market, saying European consumers have increasing awareness of nuts’ health benefits and prefer the taste of cashew to other nuts.

“Europe is the largest importer of cashew nut kernels in the world, accounting for 35-40 per cent of global cashew import value. In the next five years the European market for cashew nuts is predicted to grow at a rate of 4-6 per cent.”
Chen Ying, secretary general of the China Nut Association, said: “China’s imports of tree nuts have been increasing year after year since 2017. With the exception of walnuts, demand basically outstrips supply.”

Of the nuts widely consumed in China, cashew and pistachio are 100 per cent imported, with 70 per cent of cashew coming from Việt Nam, she said.

“The per capita consumption of nuts in China is still far behind that of developed countries, and so the potential is huge.”

But the insiders also warned about challenges like a drop in export prices, the dependence on imported raw cashew and rising shipping costs and time due to the Red Sea tensions.

According to Việt Nam Cashew Association chairman Phạm Văn Công, processed cashew prices have fallen significantly in recent years as against a minor fall raw nut prices.

As a result, most Vietnamese processors and exporters suffer losses or barely break even despite increasing exports, he said.

Both he and Sâm said that with the cashew crop this year forecast to be abundant, businesses should not buy large volumes right at the beginning of the season to stockpile.

They should wait until prices fall to reasonable levels, and only buy when they have an export contract, they added.

“Firms should buy raw materials at the right time and right price,” Sâm said.
They also need to keep good control over costs, step up trade promotions, diversify their product portfolio, and stringently control quality of raw nuts, he added.

Vietnamese exporters realise that countries that for long used to be major suppliers of raw cashew have themselves started processing the nuts for export, making it both difficult to buy raw cashew and increasing competition in the global market.

Việt Nam’s cashew industry needs to focus on improving quality and diversifying products by focusing on deep processing to keep its competitive advantage, they added.

Vũ Thái Sơn of Long Sơn JSC said the cashew industry must also keep abreast of the current green trend to meet consumers’ more stringent requirements in terms of environmental and social responsibility.

Bình Dương aims to attract investments for new-generation industrial parks

In 2024, Bình Dương Province plans to attract 130-140 investment projects to industrial parks (IP), securing US$1.2-1.3 billion from foreign capital and VNĐ1.1-1.2 trillion from domestic investors.

The plan includes a total construction investment capital of VNĐ5.7 trillion ($230.6 million), with the provision of leasing or subleasing 100-150 hectares of land. The objective is to attract 15,000 workers and achieve a total revenue of $35-40 billion.

The management board of Bình Dương Province’s industrial parks reported that there are currently 28 operational IPs in this area, with an impressive occupancy rate of over 93 per cent.

This makes Bình Dương the locality with the highest IP occupancy rate in the entire country.

To date, Bình Dương’s IPs have attracted 3,080 active projects. Among them, are 2,400 foreign-invested projects with a registered capital of nearly $29 billion and 680 domestic projects with a registered capital of nearly VNĐ93.6 trillion.

From 2023 to 2025, the province has developed 10 IPs, covering a total land area of about 3,154 hectares.

For 2026-30, the plan expands to 19 IPs, with a total land area of around 5,537 hectares. This includes the completion of the ongoing development of the IPs from the 2023-25 period, covering an area of about 2,063 hectares, and the addition of nine new IPs, spanning 3,474 hectares.

These IPs will follow the “3-in-1” model, combining IPs, urban areas, and service areas. They will feature comprehensive and modern technical and social infrastructure.

The investment attraction for these IPs will be more focused and selective, emphasising specialisation, ecological considerations and smart developments.

Coffee supply in a severe shortage, prices forecast to continue increasing in 2024

The prices of Vietnamese coffee are forecast to continue to increase next year due to severe supply shortage, according to the Vietnam Coffee Cocoa Association (Vicofa)

Domestic prices on Monday temporarily moved sideways after a series of increases last week to record levels. Never has Việt Nam experienced such a shortage of coffee.

Coffee prices were around VNĐ67,200 – 68,000 per kilogram in Tây Nguyên (Central Highlands) Lâm Đồng, Đắk Lắk and Đắk Nông, about VNĐ900 -1,000 per kg higher than last week and VNĐ8,000 than early December.

According to Mercantile Exchange of Việt Nam, for the week ending Sunday, coffee prices increased by 1.85 per cent for Arabica and 0.42 per cent for Robusta.

Farmers are delaying their sales with expectations of higher prices.

Despite being good news to farmers, high coffee prices push export enterprises into a lot of difficulty in collecting enough coffee for their signed contracts.

Đỗ Hà Nam, Vicofa’s Deputy President, said that unpredictable coffee price fluctuations caused difficulties in exporting. In the 2022-23 crops, several domestic exporters could not deliver in time because of rising prices, partly as an impact of hoarding. “During the past three decades, never have we thought that Việt Nam could be in a shortage of coffee,” Nam said.

The association has estimated that the coffee shortage of signed contracts is around 80,000 – 150,000 tonnes, waiting for the coming harvest season to be fulfilled.

Việt Nam exported more than 120,000 tonnes of coffee in November, half of which was to make up for the shortage of orders of the previous harvest crop, he said.

Coffee prices are forecast to be around VNĐ60,000 – 70,000 per kg in the coming months and are expected to decrease when Indonesia and Brazil start new coffee harvest seasons in April and May.

In the new crop, the asking prices of green coffee reached VNĐ60,000 per kg for delivery in December 2023 and January 2024 – an unprecedented price recorded at the beginning of harvest season due to high purchasing demand from export enterprises who are worried that there would be no coffee to buy from April or May next year. In 2023, coffee was out of stock from June.

According to Vicofa the European markets are the largest market for Vietnamese coffee, which consume around 40-50 per cent of the country’s exports and still have good demand for coffee.

“There will be tension in coffee supply sources. Việt Nam’s green coffee prices will continue to increase in 2024 and is poised for a record export revenue of $5 billion,” Nam said. This, however, causes a problem – enterprises are hoarding, which will bring significant risks.

A report about the coffee market by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued last week showed that the global coffee inventory was estimated at 26.5 million 60-kg bags, 16.7 per cent lower than the previous estimate and the lowest inventory level in the past 12 years.

USDA forecasts that world coffee production for 2023-24 will reach 171.4 million bags, 6.9 million bags higher than the previous crop.

Việt Nam production is forecast to add 300,000 bags to reach 27.5 million. The cultivated area is forecasted to remain unchanged, with nearly 95 per cent of total output remaining as Robusta. However, with lower total supplies due to last year’s stock drawdown, bean exports are forecast to decline by 2.4 million bags to 23 million, according to the USDA’s report.

In the context of tense supply, Nam said that Việt Nam was focusing on solutions to promote the sustainable development of the coffee industry, including ensuring origin traceability and meeting the EU’s regulations on deforestation.

Nordic countries share circular economy, waste management solutions with Vienam

Nordic countries, including Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden, shared their experience in green solutions to a circular economy and waste management and policy implications for Vietnam at a seminar held in Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday.

The seminar was organized by the Embassies in Vietnam of Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden and Fulbright University Vietnam to mark the occasion of Nordic Day 2023 (March 23).

In his opening remarks at the seminar, Ambassador of Denmark to Vietnam Nicolai Prytz said with a long tradition of working together to find solutions to common challenges, the Nordic countries are proud to share their experience and knowledge with Vietnam.

“We believe that sharing experience and best practices with our partners is essential to promoting sustainable development,” Prytz added.

Meanwhile, Ambassador of Norway to Vietnam Hilde Solbakken highlighted the role of the private sector in promoting green innovation, saying, “In the Nordic region, we have seen how private sector-driven innovation can lead to significant improvements in waste management and reduction of plastic pollution.

“We believe that when governments create the right incentives and regulations, we can unleash the potential of the private sector to drive green transition.”

At the seminar, representatives of the Nordic region shared policies and initiatives to promote sustainable development.
In particular, Denmark has implemented a green transition strategy, which focuses on reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 70 percent in 2030 compared to 1990 levels and toward net zero by 2050.

Tim Forslund, a circular economy specialist from the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra, said that Finland is the first country in the world to activate a national road map to a circular economy between 2016 and 2025, which aims to reduce waste generation and promote the reuse of materials.

It also includes circular economy knowledge in all levels of education by offering study materials and courses and providing companies with playbooks for applying circular business models, Forslund added.
Meanwhile, Norway is launching the Green Industrial Initiative to accelerate the transition, create jobs, increase exports, and cut greenhouse gas emissions.

As a speaker at the seminar, Dr Kåre Helge Karstensen, chief scientist at Norway’s Foundation for Industrial and Scientific Research, stated that Norway funded the ‘Ocean Plastic Turned into an Opportunity in Circular Economy’ project, which aims to investigate if and how the cement sector can be involved and increase the treatment capacity for non-recyclable plastic wastes in China, India, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam and thereby contribute to reducing the release of micro-plastics to the ocean.

Furthermore, Sweden has set ambitious goals for sustainability, including going fossil fuel-free and 100 percent renewable energy by 2045.

Vietnam itself also set ambitious climate targets.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh made a commitment on achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), following an agreement with the G7++ on a Just Energy Transition Partnership in December 2022.

In addition, with the green growth strategy untill 2030 with a vision to 2045, Vietnam expects to achieve a green and sustainable economy by promoting green technologies, improving energy efficiency, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The strategy also focuses on waste management and reducing plastic pollution.
The Nordic region, consisting of Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Iceland as well as The Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland, is known for its commitment to the environment and circularity.