A garment factory in Song Than 3 Industrial Park of Binh Duong province (Photo: VNA) Binh Duong (VNA) - Despite the difficulties caused by the COVID-19pandemic, Binh Duong province managed to expand exports by 3.6 percent in thefirst quarter of the year to 5.8 billion USD, according to its Department ofIndustry and Trade.
Key export items like textiles, footwear, wood products, and computers andelectronic products saw increases of between 3 percent and 4 percentyear-on-year, lower than last year but impressive amid the pandemic.
The province’s imports were estimated at 4.2 billion USD, a year-on-yearincrease of 4.3 percent, giving it a trade surplus of 1.6 billion USD.
The department said the pandemic has been negatively affecting industrialproduction and trade around the country, including Binh Duong.
The drastic support measures implemented by the Government and the provinceenabled trade to remain robust.
Ho Van Binh, the department’s Deputy Director, said a survey done by hisdepartment found that most enterprises in the province have faced difficultiesin production and trading due to the pandemic, including 110 import-exportfirms.
In the case of some other enterprises, trade was not affected in the firstquarter, but with the pandemic spreading to most major markets such as the US,EU, the Republic of Korea, and Japan, it is likely to be affected in the secondquarter, he warned.
According to business groups, leather and footwear and garment and textileenterprises are facing difficulties with export orders falling by 50 – 60 percent.
To retain their workers and sustaining cash flows, they are shifting productionto target the domestic market.
Trade activities would face new difficulties in the second quarter from theglobal COVID-19 outbreak, and the province has taken many measures to enablebusinesses to access funds and markets and eased tax payment deadlines, thedepartment said.
Chairman of the provincial People's Committee Tran Thanh Liem said with theGovernment and province’s efforts to support enterprises and address theirdifficulties, especially with regard to finance, banking, tax, andadministrative procedure reform, he expects the business community to overcomethe difficulties and enjoy good growth this year./.
VNA
