Trucks carrying goods pass the Tan Thanh border gate in Lang Son province, which borders China (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – The outbreak of the2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) has affected Vietnam’s trade with not onlyChina but also other markets, said Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade DoThang Hai.
In January, Vietnam posted 19 billion USD inexports, down 15.8 percent from December 2019 and 14.3 percent year on year.The US was the biggest importer of Vietnamese goods in the month, followed byChina, the EU, ASEAN, Japan and the Republic of Korea.
Meanwhile, imports also dropped 14.4 percentfrom the previous month to 19.1 billion USD, according to the Export-ImportDepartment under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).
The declines were partly attributed to complexdevelopments of the 2019-nCoV outbreak, as well as the week-long Lunar New Yearholiday.
Pointing out the epidemic’s impacts on Vietnam’strade with not only China but also other countries, Hai used textiles and garmentsas an example, elaborating that Vietnam is an apparel exporter, but it alsoimports a large amount of textile and garment materials from China. Therefore,the outbreak has influenced all aspects, from imports and exports andcross-border trade, to domestic trade and industrial production.
Vietnam and China share a long border with manyborder gates via which a large volume of imports and exports are traded.
The MoIT is keeping a close watch on the nCoVepidemic to assess its impacts on trade. However, despite strict measures beingtaken to contain the epidemic, the transport of goods to and from Chineselocalities is proving difficult.
If the epidemic lingers, the trade volume viaborder gates between the two countries will be affected, experts noted.
Hai said Vietnam’s agricultural and aquaticexports still depend much on China, so any fluctuations in this market,regardless of objective or subjective reasons, will greatly influence Vietnam’sexport activities.
Agricultural restructuring towards less quantityand higher quality has yet to be carried out effectively. Besides, it isdifficult to find other markets quickly to replace China since the domesticagriculture sector is unable to immediately satisfy new markets’ food safetyand animal and plant quarantine standards, he added.
The MoIT has asked businesses to closely followthe export situation in northern border provinces like Lang Son, Lao Cai, QuangNinh and Cao Bang to adjust their production and export plans to avoidcongestion at border gates and other negative impacts.
Vietnamese firms have also been told to strictlycomply with export and origin-related regulations, improve product quality, andadhere to relevant requirements to minimise losses.
However, the ministry said in the long term, itis necessary to restructure agricultural products, boost production andprocessing connectivity, and strengthen links with domestic distributionnetworks to avoid overdependence on a single market.
To tackle difficulties at border gates, PrimeMinister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on February 5 permitted the continuation ofcross-border imports and exports but said anti-nCoV measures must be ensured./.
VNA
