HCM City's exports see slight increase

This information was released at a seminar held on January 18 with the aim of removing hurdles faced by import-export enterprises to facilitate greater trade amid the complicated nature of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Le Huynh Minh Tu, deputy director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade, revealed that the southern city has exerted great efforts in support of enterprises as they strive to restore production activities and promote exports.

He added that local firms earned an export turnover of US$44.9 billion last year, marking a rise of 1% compared to 2020, with the southern metropolis’ major export markets experiencing a decline in exports, including such markets  as China, down 8.7%, the United States, down 2.3%, Japan down 14.7%, and the EU down 0.8%.

Despite these falls, Tu pointed out that businesses have faced numerous hurdles in terms of workforce, warehouses, rising sea freight rates, and shortages of containers.

Furthermore, some export markets have moved to tighten pandemic preventive measures, thereby causing difficulties for export activities.

Ly Kim Chi, chairwoman of the Food and Foodstuff Association of Ho Chi Minh City, revealed that the pandemic has caused export activities to major markets such as the US and the EU to decrease significantly due to blockade orders, travel restrictions, and regulations on pandemic control.

She therefore suggested that the Government devise special support packages for businesses, provide short-term loans, as well as reducing bank interest rates and land rental fees in order to help them to recover quickly.

At the event, delegates emphazised the need to speed up administrative reform and strengthen the application of information technology, along with providing online public services and accelerating the development of logistics services to reduce costs for businesses in the future.