HCM City’s industrial production down in eight months

Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)

HCM City (VNA) - HCM City’s index of industrial production (IIP) has failed to gain any momentum this year due to COVID-19, falling 5.4 percent year-on-year in the first eight months, the municipal Department of Industry and Trade has reported.

The IIP did, however, rise 4 percent month-on-month in August against July.

Consumption in manufacturing and processing was down 3.4 percent year-on-year while inventory was up 20.7 percent, mostly in wood production and processing, cigarettes, chemicals, and metallurgy.

Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Industry and Trade Nguyen Phuong Dong said local businesses have faced a raft of difficulties all year so need a debt waiver or extension or a tax reduction.

He suggested stimulating domestic consumption via the “Vietnamese prioritise Vietnamese products” campaign and teaching businesses how to access new policies under the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA).

According to the municipal statistics department, the city’s total trade surpassed 60.4 billion USD in the first eight months, up 0.03 percent year-on-year.

China remained its largest importer, with total revenue of over 6.84 billion USD, up 35.5 percent year-on-year, followed by the US and Japan.

Total retail of goods and consumption services topped 826.8 trillion VND (35.6 billion USD), down 3.3 percent compared to the same period last year./.