Ministry of Industry and Trade looks back at 2021 with satisfaction
Ministry of Industry and Trade looks back at 2021 with satisfaction
Despite the complicated Covid-19 pandemic, foreign trade achieved encouraging results in 2021 while the domestic market was kept stable and energy security was maintained.
The domestic market
To maintain domestic market stability despite the many challenges of the pandemic, the Ministry of Industry and Trade encouraged online shopping of essential goods, helped ease logistic difficulties and made efforts to bring about the recovery of supply chains.
Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien placed a particular focus on stimulating domestic demand, highlighting the importance of Vietnam’s nearly 100 million consumers. He urged localities, business associations and enterprises to urgently adapt production methods to the changing pandemic-induced circumstances and to meet goods traceability requirements and standards.
Ministry of Industry and Trade senior officials launch an online lychee stall of Bac Giang Province in June 2021 |
Foreign trade
Despite the pandemic, Vietnam exported more than it imported in 2021, while imports met production, consumption and export demands.
Vietnam reached a foreign trade value of more than US$660 billion in 2021 and industrial production was kept stable. These achievements are being attributed to several recently implemented free trade agreements (FTAs) signed by Vietnam, the recovery of some major foreign markets and management efforts by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
The industry and trade sector submitted appropriate proposals and cooperated with localities to help enterprises maintain production and trading activities inside and outside areas affected by the pandemic while suggesting criteria, conditions and procedures for reopening production and trade, prioritizing vaccination for supply and industrial zone workers nationwide.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade worked with ministries, sectors and localities and foreign partners and authorities to ease problems in circulation of goods and production materials, and relieve congestion at border crossings and ports. This enabled businesses to bring into play the advantages of FTAs and maintain Vietnam’s trade surplus.
Major changes also occurred in trade promotion activities in 2021. Preliminary data show that more than 1,000 online dialogues to promote domestic trade and exports were conducted between Vietnamese manufacturers and traders and foreign partners last year.
Domestic production has now caught up with domestic and foreign market demand, and export markets are being gradually expanded. Efforts to diversify export markets avoided dependence on a handful of markets.
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Energy
Implementing the Politburo Resolution 55-NQ/TW on energy development to 2030 with a vision to 2045, as well as the government’s direction, the Ministry Industry and Trade assisted the development of Power Plan VIII.
Experimental implementation of the policy on direct electricity purchase and sales between power producers and users from now to 2025 is the first step of Vietnam’s competitive electricity retail market development. The Ministry of Industry and Trade proposed that the government and the National Assembly amend the Electricity Law so that privately owned enterprises can invest in electricity transmission. The ministry submitted to the government policies on power project management, and proposed that the government allow implementation of a power supply program for rural, mountainous and island areas in the 2021-2025 period.
