Exports down, Vietnam still has impressive trade surplus; Thanh Hoa lychee "on the way" to Japan and UK

Thanh Hoa seedless litchis are on their way to Japan and the UK; exports down, Vietnam still has an impressive trade surplus... are the highlights in the export news bulletin on June 12-16.

Việc xuất khẩu hơn 1 tấn vải không hạt sang thị trường Nhật Bản và Vương quốc Anh đã mở ra cơ hội cho trong việc xuất khẩu nhiều sản phẩm nông nghiệp của tỉnh Thanh Hóa trong thời gian tới.

The export of more than 1 ton of seedless lychee to the Japanese and British markets has opened up opportunities for the export of many agricultural products of Thanh Hoa province in the coming time. (Source: Industry and Trade Newspaper)

Thanh Hoa seedless litchi on its way to Japan and the UK

Thanh Hoa Province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said that on the afternoon of June 13, the first 1 ton of seedless lychee grown by Ho Guom - Song Am High-Tech Agriculture Company Limited in Thanh Hoa was exported to the Japanese and British markets.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Thanh Hoa province, this is the first batch exported to Japan with a weight of 500 kg and the United Kingdom with 600 kg. This is a seedless litchi variety selected and grown by Ho Guom - Song Am High-Tech Agriculture Company Limited in collaboration with the Institute of Agricultural Genetics ( Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development ) and tested in Ngoc Lac district with an area of about 30 hectares in Nguyet An commune, according to VietGAP and GlobalGAP processes to meet export needs.

A representative of Ho Guom - Song Am High-Tech Agriculture Company Limited said that 2023 is the first year the company harvests lychees for sale to the market. The estimated harvest output is about 20 tons, with a wholesale price of about 170,000 VND/kg. Currently, the company's seedless lychees are present in many major domestic markets such as: Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City...

The fact that Ho Guom - Song Am High-Tech Agriculture Company Limited exported more than 1 ton of seedless lychee for the first time to the Japanese and UK markets marked an important milestone for Thanh Hoa province's agricultural sector, when fruit trees are grown according to VietGAP and GlobalGAP processes, opening up opportunities for the export of many agricultural products of Thanh Hoa province in the coming time.

Which 3 Vietnamese fruits continue to be controlled by the EU?

There are three products that continue to be subject to official controls, including bell peppers, okra, and dragon fruit. Specifically, bell peppers have an inspection frequency of 50%; okra has an inspection frequency of 50%; and dragon fruit is 20%.

Recently, the Vietnam National Sanitary and Phytosanitary Information and Enquiry Point (Vietnam SPS) has sent a document to the Plant Protection Department, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Industry and Trade on amending Regulation (EU) 2019/1793 on temporarily strengthening official controls and emergency measures to manage the import of certain goods from certain third countries into the EU.

The Vietnam SPS Office received a notification from the Secretariat of the SPS/WTO Committee No. G/SPS/N/EU/641 dated June 9, 2023 of the European Union notifying the Implementing Regulation No. (EU) 2023/1110 dated June 6, 2023 amending Regulation (EU) 2019/1793 on temporary enhancement of official controls and emergency measures governing the entry of certain goods from certain third countries into the Union implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/625 and (EC) No. 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council.

The EU began applying emergency control regulations on Vietnamese vermicelli, rice noodles and rice products from January 1, 2022. Just 6 months later, the EU removed vermicelli, rice products from the food safety management list and now, after 18 months from that time, instant noodles have been transferred from an item subject to review in Annex II (control by certificate and at the border) to Annex I (control at the border).

This decision is a recognition of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of our country in food safety control as well as actively supporting to solve difficulties for businesses.

According to Vietnamese Trade Counselor in Belgium and the EU Tran Ngoc Quan, the fact that the EU still maintains border control at a frequency of 20% requires Vietnam to always maintain good food safety control for instant noodles.

If in the last 6 months of 2023, Vietnamese instant noodles exported to the EU have many violations of food safety regulations, the next step for the EU will be to increase supervision to 50% at the border gate and then return to Appendix II.

South Korea is one of the famous countries for instant noodle production, however, for many years, the Land of Kimchi has not been successful in convincing the EU to remove quality control and is currently still in Appendix I with a 20% inspection frequency like Vietnam.

Previously, the EU published Regulation (EU) 2023/1110 signed on June 6, 2023 amending Regulation 2019/1973 on emergency measures to control food exports to the EU.

The EU has officially moved Vietnamese instant noodles from Annex II (control by food safety certificates and border control) to Annex I with a border inspection frequency of 20%. Thus, from June 27, instant noodles exported from Vietnam will not be required to be accompanied by a food safety inspection certificate issued by a competent authority of Vietnam.

Also in this regulation, bell peppers from Vietnam are still in Appendix I with a 50% inspection frequency at the border gate; Okra and dragon fruit are still in Appendix II with a 50% and 20% inspection frequency respectively. This means that agricultural products have not changed compared to the regulations of 6 months ago.

The regulation takes effect 20 days after the date of publication in the Official Gazette.

Exports down, Vietnam still has impressive trade surplus

According to preliminary statistics from the General Department of Customs, the total value of import and export goods of the whole country in May 2023 reached 54.08 billion USD, up 1.9%, equivalent to an increase of more than 1 billion USD compared to the previous month. Of which, the export value was 28.04 billion USD, up slightly by 0.6% (equivalent to an increase of 176 million USD) and the import value was 26.04 billion USD, up 3.3% (equivalent to an increase of 827 million USD).

Thus, in the first 5 months of 2023, the total value of Vietnam's import and export of goods reached 260.79 billion USD, down 15.3%, equivalent to a decrease of 47.17 billion USD compared to the same period last year. Of which, the export value reached 135.22 billion USD, down 12.3% (equivalent to a decrease of 18.88 billion USD) and the import value reached 125.57 billion USD, down 18.4% (equivalent to a decrease of 28.29 billion USD).

In May 2023, the trade balance of goods had a trade surplus of more than 2 billion USD. In the first 5 months of 2023, the country's trade balance of goods had a trade surplus of 9.65 billion USD.

The General Department of Customs recorded that the total import-export value of foreign direct investment (FDI) enterprises in the month was 36.58 billion USD, a slight increase of 0.8% compared to the previous month, bringing the total import-export value of foreign direct investment (FDI) enterprises in the first 5 months of 2023 to 180.59 billion USD, down 15.1% (equivalent to a decrease of 32.03 billion USD) compared to the same period last year.

Xuất khẩu ngày 12-16/6: Xuất khẩu giảm, Việt Nam vẫn xuất siêu ấn tượng; vải Thanh Hoá 'lên đường' sang Nhật Bản và Anh

In the first 5 months of 2023, the country's trade balance of goods had a trade surplus of 9.65 billion USD. (Source: Hapro)

Of which, the export of goods of FDI enterprises this month was 19.79 billion USD, down 1.2% compared to the previous month, thereby raising the export value of goods in the first 5 months of 2023 of FDI enterprises to 98.91 billion USD, down 12.2% (equivalent to a decrease of 13.78 billion USD) compared to the same period last year and accounting for 73.1% of the total export value of the whole country.

On the contrary, the import value of FDI enterprises in May 2023 was 16.78 billion USD, up 3.4% over the previous month, bringing the import value of this sector in the first 5 months of 2023 to 81.68 billion USD, down 18.3% (equivalent to a decrease of 18.25 billion USD) over the same period last year and accounting for 65% of the total import value of the whole country.

The trade balance of goods of FDI enterprises in May 2023 reached a surplus of 3 billion USD, bringing the trade balance in the first 5 months of 2023 to a surplus of 17.23 billion USD.

Also according to the General Department of Customs, in the first 5 months of 2023, the total import-export value of Vietnam with Asia was 169.2 billion USD, accounting for the largest proportion of 64.9% among all continents and down 15.3% over the same period last year. Next was the Americas with 52.86 billion USD, accounting for 20.3%, down 18.9%; Europe was 29.29 billion USD, accounting for 11.2%, down 10.2%; Oceania was 6.25 billion USD, accounting for 2.4%, down 10.6%; Africa was 3.19 billion USD, accounting for 1.2%, down 5.5% over the same period last year.

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