Industry and Trade News 7/11: New proposal on fuel reserves

On November 7th, the press published a lot of information related to the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The Industry and Trade Newspaper would like to summarize some of the noteworthy information.

Import and export sector

The Investment Newspaper reported: "Exports set a new record, Vietnamese businesses affirm their resilience."

Setting consecutive records in various fields, Vietnamese businesses are demonstrating impressive resilience in export activities. This positive result not only expands the scale of trade but also strengthens Vietnam's position in the global supply chain.

Alongside agricultural products, electronics and high-tech businesses are becoming key drivers of export growth and pillars in the global value chain. Thanks to high-tech FDI inflows and expanding production capacity, Vietnam has become a crucial link in the global electronics supply chain and has emerged as a leading assembly hub in Southeast Asia.

However, in the short term, exports of some product groups are showing signs of slowing down due to order adjustments and tariff fluctuations. The computer and electronics group, which previously maintained sales of over ten billion USD per month, decreased to nearly 9 billion USD in October. Nevertheless, experts remain optimistic, believing that the last two months of the year could bring in tens of billions of USD more, bringing the total export value for the year close to 100 billion USD.

Energy sector

Today's News Report (November 7th) published the following information: "Urgent measures needed to repair power outages after Typhoon No. 13".

Due to the impact of Typhoon No. 13, which brought heavy rain and strong winds over a wide area, many areas in Central Vietnam experienced serious incidents on the power grid, leaving more than 1.6 million customers without electricity.

Immediately after the storm weakened, EVNCPC directed its affiliated power companies to mobilize all available resources, coordinate with local authorities, and focus on repairing damage, isolating affected areas, and restoring power to priority loads such as hospitals, disaster prevention and control command centers, communication centers, and water supply facilities. The corporation stated that it is continuing to deploy personnel and materials from less affected areas to support heavily damaged areas, striving to restore power supply as quickly as possible, ensuring absolute safety for people and equipment.

The Construction Newspaper published the following article: "New proposal on fuel reserves".

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has just submitted to the National Assembly a draft resolution on mechanisms and policies to overcome difficulties and promote national energy development in the period 2026-2030. One of the key contents addressed is resolving shortcomings in petroleum reserve management – ​​an area that has revealed many problems since the Law on National Reserves was promulgated.

Currently, Vietnam does not have its own state-owned petroleum reserves; it mainly leases them from leading enterprises (Illustrative image).

The Ministry has repeatedly reported to the Government and proposed solutions to resolve the issue, but obstacles remain due to some matters falling under the authority of the National Assembly . Specifically, Article 51 of the Law on National Reserves stipulates that reserve goods must be "stored separately," but this regulation is revealing limitations when applied to petroleum products.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade points out that the separate auction and bidding mechanisms easily lead to price discrepancies, resulting in budget losses or disruptions to reserves. In fact, since the National Reserve Law came into effect, not once has the auction of national reserve petroleum products been successfully implemented.

Therefore, the Ministry recommends adding a "flexible product swapping" mechanism to switch between types of petroleum products, ensuring safety, continuity, and efficiency in inventory management.

In addition to the traditional buying and selling method, the Ministry also proposed allowing the conversion of national petroleum reserve types through direct swapping, instead of auction.

Domestic market sector

The Tuoi Tre newspaper reported: " Supermarkets increase support for the South Central region, committing to sufficient supply at good prices."

Given the complex developments of Typhoon Kalmaegi (Typhoon No. 13), many retail systems have urgently activated emergency response plans across their entire network, increasing the supply of goods and offering promotions to support people's shopping, especially in the South Central region.

Meanwhile, in Ho Chi Minh City, although not directly in the storm's path, many residents proactively stocked up due to the combined effects of the storm and high tides. However, according to observations at supermarkets and local markets, the supply remains generally abundant.

E-commerce sector

The Investment Newspaper published an article titled : "Cross-border e-commerce: A new driving force for Vietnamese businesses."

Cross-border e-commerce is no longer a foreign concept, but is becoming an important growth channel for Vietnamese businesses. Along with the strong inflow of FDI into ASEAN and the shift in global supply chains, these are considered three key drivers of growth in the coming period.

From a management perspective, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Duong, Deputy Head of the Trade Promotion Capacity Development Department (Trade Promotion Agency, Ministry of Industry and Trade), said that the Agency is coordinating with major platforms such as Alibaba, Amazon, and TikTok to implement the National Pavilion, supporting businesses in direct export. Preliminary results show that more than 50% of participating businesses have received orders, with an average value of tens of thousands of USD.

However, Mr. Duong also noted that the digital capabilities of many Vietnamese businesses are still limited, from operating booths and cross-border logistics to meeting stringent requirements regarding traceability, environment, and labor. Therefore, he believes businesses need to invest systematically instead of relying solely on the advantage of low prices.

Source: https://congthuong.vn/tin-cong-thuong-7-11-de-xuat-moi-ve-du-tru-xang-dau-429465.html