Workers at a factory of Gia Toc Garment Export Company in Ly Nhan district, Ha Nam province. (Photo: VNA) Global demand for Vietnamese products has been dwindling, with thecountry's major exports, such as furniture, footwear, and seafood, receivingfar fewer orders than last year.
The General Department of Vietnam Customs revealed that, by theend of February, the country's electronics exports had dropped by 13.9% to 6.87billion USD compared to 2022.
Additionally, machinery and tools exports reported a 1.6% declineto 6.4 billion USD, while textile exports dropped by a significant 19.6% to 4.55billion USD. Footwear and furniture exports also suffered losses, declining by15.8% and 34.8%, respectively, to 2.76 billion USD each.
Mobile phones and parts remained among a handful of exports thatreported a positive growth at 7.6%, or 9.42 billion USD, thanks to Samsungintroducing its 2023 models earlier than usual.
The textile sector was particularly affected by lower globaldemand, according to Minister of Trade and Industry Nguyen Hong Dien, with atotal export worth of 4.5 billion USD, a 20% decrease year-on-year.
"Lower demand in the world's major markets such as the US andChina, on top of a large inventory held by retailers, have resulted in fewerorders placed this year," said Cao Huu Hieu, director-general of Vinatex,one of the country's largest textile groups.
The seafood sector has seen fewer orders since the end of 2022,with demand from the US and the EU nosediving by 35% and 8%,respectively.
Vietnam's seafood export during the first two months of the yearwas reported at 1.1 billion USD, a 26% decrease from last year. Tra fish, inparticular, was down by 38%, shrimp by 37% and tuna by 27%.
Furniture was down by 35%, with the industry's forecast remaininggrim as large global markets such as the US and the EU will likely reducespending due to inflation, economic setbacks and lower purchasing power.
Meanwhile, Vietnamese furniture makers still struggled tomeet said market's product origin and standards regulations. High inventory anda damaged distribution network after the pandemic were other contributingfactors.
Several measures have been taken to support businesses, accordingto the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), including trade promotional andnetworking events.
Vietnam's trade representative offices overseas have been told tostep up efforts to help businesses enter new markets and resolve on-goingissues with their entry.
The ministry said while businesses wait for traditional marketssuch as the US, the EU and Japan to recover, they must seek out otheralternatives, especially markets in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, LatinAmerica and South Asia./.
VNA
