Nghe An: Supporting import and export businesses to overcome the Corona epidemic

EXPORT TURNOVER STILL GROWS WELL

According to the leader of a textile and garment enterprise in Vinh city, the export turnover in the first two months of the year reached 2.1 million USD, a slight increase compared to last year. The reason is that in the same period last year, the export situation of the enterprise was also affected by the US-China trade war, so exports decreased. The enterprise's products are mainly exported to the markets of Egypt, Korea, Malaysia, and Thailand. Currently, orders are slowing down, and inventory is happening.

Cotton fiber - the main raw material for yarn production of Nghe An enterprises - is being imported from abroad. Photo: Thu Huyen

Up to this point, through a preliminary survey by the Department of Industry and Trade, some export items to China via waterway are still operating normally, the impact of order cancellations due to the Covid-19 epidemic has not been seen yet, orders are quite stable, for example: wood chips, various types of stones, seafood. However, there have been delays in orders and short-term order adjustments in some businesses.

For businesses exporting by road, especially flowers, fresh fruits and tapioca starch, they are currently facing difficulties and stagnation.

In the first two months of the year, despite the difficult economic situation, Nghe An's export turnover reached 170.8 million USD, up nearly 5.14% over the same period, of which goods reached nearly 122.7 million USD, up 9.3%.

Regarding imports, the first two months of the year reached 81.4 million USD, less than half of the same period's import turnover. Some items that decreased significantly were textile raw materials, machinery and equipment, and petroleum. The fact that import turnover at the beginning of this year decreased significantly compared to the beginning of 2019 was due to the sudden increase in imports by Hoa Sen and Thien Minh Duc Groups in the same period (of which Hoa Sen imported 105 million USD of machinery and equipment, and Thien Minh Duc Group imported 16.6 million USD of petroleum). Therefore, the import turnover compared to before did not decrease significantly, and currently, imports have not had a big impact.

Textile and garment industry is affected by the Covid-19 epidemic. Photo: Thu Huyen

However, in the coming time, textiles and textile fibers are one of the industries that are forecast to be greatly affected by the Covid-19 epidemic. China is the market that supplies 40-50% of input materials for enterprises in Nghe An. Currently, many enterprises importing raw materials from China are calculating to produce enough for 3 months, so the impact has not been much. If by the end of March, the epidemic situation has not improved, enterprises will be greatly affected.

Mr. Hoang Minh Tuan - Head of the Import-Export Department of the Department of Industry and Trade said: Recently, about 65% of the province's export turnover of goods went by waterway, the rest went by road. For cargo ships imported from China, the authorities have quarantined, monitored, and supervised the health of crew members to promptly detect and prevent the Covid-19 epidemic. Currently, no abnormalities have been detected, so imported shipments are still coming in normally.

ENHANCE SOLUTIONS TO ENHANCE BUSINESSES

In the face of the complicated situation of the acute respiratory infection caused by the new strain of SARS-Cov-2 virus (Covid-19 epidemic) in China and around the world, the Department of Industry and Trade has updated the customs clearance situation at border gates in the provinces of Quang Ninh, Lao Cai, Lang Son... so that businesses can know the situation and be proactive in building production and business plans.

Containers are loaded and unloaded at Cua Lo Port. Photo: Thu Huyen

The State Bank of Nghe An province has also proactively coordinated with relevant sectors to assess the inventory levels at enterprises (cassava starch, fresh fruits, textiles, etc.) to develop support plans (interest rates, credit limits, debt extensions, etc.) for enterprises in the short term.

Implementing the direction of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, we have sent an official dispatch to credit institutions and branches in the area to balance capital sources to fully meet capital needs for production and business. Proactively grasp the production and business situation, the level of damage of customers borrowing capital at the unit due to the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic, especially in sectors with many impacts such as tourism, agriculture, export... to promptly apply support measures, remove difficulties for customers such as restructuring debt repayment terms, considering loan interest exemptions... in accordance with current legal regulations.

Mr. Cao Song Diep - Head of Planning Department, State Bank of Vietnam, Nghe An branch.

To proactively cope with the Covid-19 epidemic and ensure and maintain import-export development, the Provincial People's Committee has also directed relevant sectors and localities to regularly update promptly and closely assess the impact of the epidemic on two-way trade between Vietnam and China and with partners around the world of Nghe An enterprises.

Production at a Thai canned food company invested in Nam Cam Industrial Park. Photo: Thu Huyen

The Department of Industry and Trade shall preside over and coordinate with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and relevant sectors to research and develop solutions to find alternative markets for imported and exported products from China to stabilize the market; closely monitor the production and circulation of agricultural products in the province, avoid local congestion, promptly notify businesses and producers of the situation to proactively adjust production plans and consumer market needs.

Enterprises also need to plan a response plan for the possibility of the epidemic becoming complicated, widespread, and prolonged, leading to difficulties in trading, thereby having a timely plan to shift exports to other markets, domestic consumption or processing and cold storage. Enterprises need to proactively review the amount of raw materials in stock to ensure production and seek other suppliers in the same category for backup according to production and business plans...