Nghe An: Construction and processing industry maintains growth

According to the Department of Industry and Trade of Nghe An, in the first quarter of 2020, industrial production activities still grew compared to the same period: The index of industrial production (IIP) increased by 2.9% over the same period in 2019.

Although some sectors such as water supply, waste and wastewater management and treatment activities decreased by 4.60%; production and distribution of electricity, gas, hot water, steam, and air conditioning decreased by 32.34%; the mining industry increased by 11.91%; the processing and manufacturing industry increased by 6.41%.

In the first quarter of 2020, the mining and manufacturing industries still maintained good growth. Graphics: Lam Tung

Some products have increased quite a bit likeConstruction stone exploitation increased compared to the same period due to increased demand for construction of civil and traffic works in the area. Enterprises are still allowed to operate normally according to the provisions of Directive No. 16/CT-TTg.

For the field of mechanical and electronic manufacturing: Hoa Sen Dong Hoi and Nam Cam factories still operate normally in production and export of goods, and the source of raw materials is still sufficient for the production line to operate in April and May. Monthly production output reaches nearly 40,000 tons, and in early April 2020, a shipment of 10,000 tons was exported to the Mexican market.

For electronic component manufacturing enterprises such as Em-Tech and BSE, because they cannot import raw materials, they have to reuse recycled materials for production.

Currently, Hoa Sen corrugated iron products are stable due to guaranteed raw material sources. Photo: Viet Phuong

Cement production of factories in the area continued to grow well, with output in the first 3 months of the year increasing by 15.7% over the same period. Tan Thang Cement Factory project completed investment and started producing commercial products at the end of March 2020.

Some agricultural processing factories are still operating stably due to high domestic market demand. The reason is that competitive products from the import market are temporarily suspended while the need for additional necessities to serve epidemic prevention work, consumers have a more precautionary shopping mentality. Milk production of the two factories TH Truemilk and Vinamilk reached 95% of the line capacity, milk output increased by 10.5% over the same period; Cooking oil production at Tuong An Oil Factory increased by 12%; Pure drinking water production increased by 15%.

Sugar production has finished the pressing season since the first week of April. This year's sugarcane output is lower than previous years. However, the plants have few pests and diseases, the sugarcane quality is good, so the sugar content is high. The sugar output of all three factories in the area (Song Lam, Song Con, NASU) reached approximately 90,000 tons.

Cement is one of the products with a fairly high growth rate today. In the photo: Nghi Thiet Cement Mixing Station, Nghi Loc. Photo by Viet Phuong

In general, businesses in the province are still trying to maintain production and business activities during the complicated developments of the Covid-19 epidemic.

Mr. Nguyen Van Hiep - Head of Industrial Management Department, Department of Industry and Trade said: Enterprises have strictly followed epidemic prevention procedures such as: Checking body temperature before entering the gate, washing hands with sanitizer, continuously wearing masks and keeping a distance of 2m as prescribed, spraying disinfectant on vehicles carrying raw materials and goods entering and leaving the factory,... Carrying out regular health declarations and advising officers and employees to limit contact with the outside when going home from work.

However, projects that are in progress cannot import machinery and equipment for installation as planned, so progress is slow; Many small and medium-sized enterprises face many difficulties due to the epidemic, having to temporarily suspend production and business, increasing bank debts, workers having to take unpaid leave...

To overcome difficulties and help businesses stabilize production, the industry and trade sector is proposing that the province quickly disburse approved support packages, and at the same time, consider allowing the use of part of unemployment insurance funds and social insurance funds to support businesses to continue paying salaries to workers. Mobilizing commercial banks to immediately implement plans to reduce interest rates or provide interest-free loans for the amounts that businesses use to pay salaries to workers in the following months until production and trade activities return to normal.