Vietnam Business & Weather Briefing (Sep 26): Number of air passengers down in September

Business Briefing

Gold rate

SJC gold price in Hanoi and Da Nang area is VND 65.8 million/tael (buying) and VND 66.62 million per tael (selling). In Ho Chi Minh City, SJC gold is bought at the same price as in Hanoi and Da Nang but sold for VND 20,000 less.

DOJI gold prices in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are listed at VND 65.75 million/tael (buying) and VND 66.5 million/tael (selling).

Photo: Zing

Reference exchange rate

The State Bank of Vietnam set the daily reference exchange rate for the US dollar at VND 23,334/USD on September 26, up VND 10 from the last working day of the previous week (September 23). With the current trading band of /-3 percent, the ceiling rate applied to commercial banks during the day is VND 24,034/USD, and the floor rate VND 22,634/USD.

The opening-hour rates at many commercial banks showed an upward trend. BIDV listed the buying rate at VND 23,575/USD and the selling rate at VND 23,855/USD, both up VND 10 from the end of September 23. Meanwhile, Vietcombank kept both rates unchanged at VND 23,535/USD (buying) and VND 23,845/USD (selling). During the week from September 19-23, the reference exchange rate mostly followed an upward trend. It ended the week up VND 29.

Aviation news: Number of air passengers down 14% in September

The number of air passengers in September reached 4.2 million, down 14% month-on-month, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV). The volume increased by 19.6% and 3% compared to the same month in 2021 and 2019, respectively, it said. During the month, Vietnamese airlines served 712,000 foreign travelers, up 8.7% compared to last month and down 47.8% compared to that in September 2019. The volume of domestic passengers reached 3.7 million, a drop of 13% month-on-month but 34% higher than that of the same month in 2019.

The CAAV attributed the decrease in the air passenger volume to the fact that airlines have entered the low season which usually lasts until the end of December, adding that the number will rise remarkably during Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday in the early months of each year, according to VNA.

Vietnamese airlines carried 37 million passengers in the first nine months of this year, including 2.9 million foreign and 19.5 domestic ones. The figures soared by 157%, 2,396%, and nearly 140% respectively compared to the same period last year. The CAAV forecasts airports nationwide will serve about 87.8 million passengers this year, jumping 190% from 2021. The numbers of foreign and domestic passengers are expected at some 5 million and 82.8 million, up 844% and 178.4%, respectively.

Photo: Zing

Export news: Vietnamese pomelo has large potential for export

Vietnamese pomelo has a large potential for entering markets including the US, the EU, and Japan, according to the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency. Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy, Deputy Director of the Export Promotion Centre, said that Vietnamese pomelo is considered to have superior quality to other countries thanks to its moderate sweetness and suitability to consumers of many regions and markets together with a low pest risk.

As pomelo has thick skin, it is easy to preserve for a long time after harvest, which makes it possible to transport by sea, according to the official. Besides, agricultural products and pomelo in particular are subject to preferential tariffs under free trade agreements to which Vietnam is a member, hence the large potential for pomelo export to many markets. Thuy pointed out that currently, Vietnamese pomelo is mainly exported in the form of fresh fruit with low added value. Pomelo can be processed into many different products such as fruit juice, essential oil, and jam while the essence in pomelo peel could be used to produce many types of pharmaceuticals and foodstuffs.

The trade official said the US has allowed the official import of green-skinned pomelo from Vietnam, which is the seventh fresh fruit of Vietnam to receive permission to enter this market, after mango, longan, lychee, dragon fruit, rambutan, and star apple. Other goods such as coconut and durian have already been exported to the US but in frozen form.

After pomelo, the US is considering procedures to allow the import of Vietnamese coconuts. Thuy cited statistics from the US Department of Agriculture that the US has a huge demand for fruits, estimated at around 12 million tonnes per year while the US domestic production of fresh fruit met only about 70% of the demand. This is a big opportunity for Vietnamese fruits, including pomelo, she said.

According to Nguyen Manh Quyen, head of the Vietnam Trade Office’s branch in Houston, Texas, Vietnam’s export of fresh pomelo to the US remains modest. Statistics showed that the US imported around USD 17 billion worth of pomelo in 2020 and USD 20 billion in 2021. In the first seven months of this year, the US pomelo import reached USD 14 billion, of which Vietnam accounted for around USD 1 billion.

Quyen urged enterprises to pay attention to strictly comply with the guidance of the US Department of Agriculture and the US Food and Drug Administration when exporting fruit to the US. Vietnamese pomelo also has the opportunity to expand in Indonesia and Hong Kong.

Vu Thi Thuy, from the trade office in Hong Kong, said that Hong Kong has a high demand for fresh pomelo, spending USD 36.4 million to import pomelo last year, a year-on-year increase of 28.2%. Vietnam ranked second in exporting pomelo to Hong Kong with export revenue of USD 2.5 million, after Thailand with USD 7.8 million in 2021. However, in the first seven months of this year, Vietnam’s export of pomelo to Hong Kong increased 133% against the same period last year to reach USD 2.53 million, becoming the largest pomelo exporter to Hong Kong.

Photo: Zing

Weather Forecast

September 27: According to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, Hanoi will be cloudy with showers and thunderstorms. The highest temperature is 35 Celcius degrees.

Ho Chi Minh City will be cloudy with scattered thunderstorms, especially in the afternoon. The highest temperature will range from 30 – 31 Celcius degrees, and the lowest average humidity is 77 – 78%.