According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s IndustryDepartment, Vietnam’s manufacturing and processing sector mostly relies onmaterials and spare parts imported from China, the Republic of Korea and Japan.
The hardest-hit sectors include electricity-electronics;apparel, leather, footwear and handbag; and automobile manufacturing andassembling.
By the end of this year’s first quarter, it is forecast thatautomakers and assemblers will run short of spare parts for manufacturing.
Participants suggested the government direct ministries,agencies and localities to work with Chinese counterparts to consider border restrictionmeasures, thus ensuring sufficient input for domestic production.
They proposed offering incentives to facilitate the switchof manufacturing, especially spare parts, to Vietnam from China.
Deputy Minister Cao Quoc Hung highlighted the need to workwith each association and sector to learn about impact of the epidemic so as tooffer support to businesses in the most effective manner.
The Ministry of Planning and Investment predicted that the addedvalue of the industry sector will hike only 5.18 percent if the epidemic endsin the first quarter, compared to 9 percent and 10.45 percent in the sameperiod of 2019 and 2018, respectively.
If the epidemic is put under control in the second quarter,the figure will rise by 5.33 percent, lower than the 9.24 percent year-on-yearand the 8.34 percent in the same period of 2018./.