The Ministry of Industry and Trade will realise a series of solutions to promote production and sales this year to accomplish the 2014-2015 plan. Analysis by The Vietnam Economic News.

Restoring production and increasing exports

A Ministry of Industry and Trade report showed that the 2013 industrial production value is about 5.9 percent more than 2012’s (2012 industrial production value was 5.8 percent higher than 2011’s). Of this, manufacturing and processing industries, including textiles and garments and leather and footwear, among others, grew considerably, contributing greatly to the growth of the 2013 Index of Industrial Production (IIP).

Industrial production increased an average of 6 percent per year from 2011-2013. Many large investment projects were implemented or put into operation in this period, contributing to increasing production output, improving product quality and satisfying demands for essential goods for domestic production and export.

There remained problems that needed to be solved. Although the industrial product structure improved it remained below expectations. Value needed to be added to a number of industrial products, including leather and footwear, textiles, garments, electric wires and cable and electronics, among others.

Retail sales and service revenues grew an average of 17.5 percent per year in 2011-2013. In 2013, exports totaled 132.17 billion USD (up 15.4 percent from 2012), while imports amounted to 131.3 billion USD (up 15.4 percent). This means that the country exported 863 USD million more than it imported last year. This is the second consecutive year that Vietnam made a trade surplus. Exports grew an average of 22.3 percent per year from 2011-2013, 11.3 percent higher than the 11-percent target set by the 11th Party Congress. It is also higher than the target set by the 2011-2020 import-export strategy and a vision to 2030.

Breakthroughs to be created in 2014

According to the ministry, in 2014 and 2015, industry and construction will grow 6.1-6.3 percent, exports 10 percent per year, and total retail sales and service revenues 14 percent per annum while trade deficit will be kept at less than 6 percent of export revenue.

The sector will continue promoting exports, while exports are expected to come to 145.4 billion USD in 2014, 10 percent more than 2013. The sector will also control the import of goods that are not encouraged to be imported and goods that can be made domestically. Imports are expected to amount to about 154 billion USD in 2014, 17.3 percent more than 2013.

Domestic market development will be combined with domestic consumption stimulation especially in remote, rural, island and mountainous regions. The 2014-2015 goods market is expected to experience a growth higher than that in 2011-2013. Solutions will be found to assist businesses and farmers to find buyers for their products, especially key products such as rice, coffee, rubber and shrimp. Priority will be given to trade (including exports) promotion, especially trade in key products to vital, new and potential markets.
To accomplish the 2014-2015 plan, apart from implementing its tasks, the ministry will realise a series of solutions to promote production and sales, including:

To strengthen macroeconomic stability, maintain a balance between demand and supply of essential goods; develop exports on a sustainable basis to give a driving force to the economy’s development, continue to increase the contribution of processed goods and goods with a high technological content to the export structure, strengthen and improve information and forecast about barriers in importing countries, and improve product quality;

To restructure industrial production in order to increase the technological and local content of product, and to transform a model of processing goods according to the order of foreign partners to a model of creating manufacturers’ own products; and

To actively participate in activities related to industrial production and trade development, such as education, training, science and technology development, natural resource and environment protection, coping with climate change, sustainable development, food safety and hygiene control, administrative reform, state management improvement, and corruption control.-VNA