Vietnam Business & Weather Briefing (Sep 3): Organic agricultural products export reaches USD 335 mln

Business Briefing

Gold rate

After a series of strong fluctuations, the domestic gold price this morning (October 3) stood still. SJC gold price in Hanoi and Da Nang area is currently bought at VND 65.4 million/tael and sold at VND 66.42 million/tael. DOJI’s gold price in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City is listed at VND 65.4 million/tael (buying) and VND 66.4 million/tael (selling).

Reference exchange rate

The State Bank of Vietnam set the daily reference exchange rate for the US dollar at VND 23,412/USD on October 3, up VND 12 from the last working day of the previous week (September 30). With the current trading band of +/-3 percent, the ceiling rate applied to commercial banks during the day is VND 24,114/USD, and the floor rate VND 22,709/USD.

On the contrary, the opening-hour rates at many commercial banks dropped. At 8:30 am, BIDV listed the buying rate at VND 23,720/USD and the selling rate at VND 24,000/USD, both down VND 10 from the end of September 30. Meanwhile, Vietcombank kept both rates unchanged at VND 23,700/USD (buying) and VND 24,010/USD (selling). Last week, the daily reference exchange rate for the US dollar followed an upward trend for most of the week, gaining VND 66 at the end of the week.

Photo: Zing News

Export news: Annual export of organic agricultural products reaches USD 335 million

Vietnam has shipped its organic agricultural products to 180 countries over the world, earning an average of USD 335 million per year. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the country’s area of organic cultivation surpasses 174,000 hectares, making it rank ninth out of 10 Asian countries with the largest area of organic agricultural land.

The country now has over 17,000 producers, 555 processors, and 60 exporters involved in organic agriculture. It set targets of organic production accounting for 2.5-3% of the total agricultural land area, and the product value per hectare being 1.5-1.8 times higher than that of non-organic production. In the coming time, the ministry continues to work with localities to build concentrated organic agricultural production regions, promote origin traceability, and digitalization of organic products.

Photo: Zing News

Export value of aquatic products up 38% in nine months

The export turnover of aquatic products topped USD 8.5 billion in the first nine months of 2022, up 38% year-on-year, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP). In September alone, the export value is estimated at over USD 850 million. Although it is still 36% higher than the same period last year, this is the first time after seven months the exports fall to below USD 900 million.

Le Hang, deputy director of the VASEP’s Trade Promotion and Training Centre, said that inflation has reduced the import demand of foreign markets, including Vietnam’s main importers. In the first nine months, the export values of shrimp, tra fish, and seafood reached nearly USD 3.4 billion, USD 2 billion, and USD 3.2 billion, up 23%, 82%, and 33%, respectively. In September, tra fish exports posted the highest growth rate at 97% to USD 161 million.

The country’s export of aquatic products to China hit USD 153 million last month, up 97% y-o-y, but down 1.4% compared to that of July. Meanwhile, earnings from the US decreased by 11% y-o-y to USD 140 million. In January-September, the US remained the largest importer of Vietnamese aquatic products, with nearly USD 1.8 billion, up 22% y-o-y. The VASEP forecast that by the end of November, the sector can fulfill the yearly target of earning USD 10 billion from aquatic exports.

Photo: Zing News

Investment news: USD 2.97 billion in FDI poured into HCM City in 9 months

Ho Chi Minh City attracted USD 2.97 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) this year to September 20, a year-on-year increase of 26.1%, according to the municipal Department of Planning and Investment. Of the amount, USD 348 million was poured into 567 new projects, down 7.6 percent in value compared to the same period last year.

Singapore was the biggest investor in the southern hub with 97 new projects totaling USD 121.8 million, accounting for 35% of the total newly-registered capital. It was followed by Japan and the Republic of Korea with 60 and 81 projects worth USD 60.2 million and USD 47.1 million, respectively.

Meanwhile, nearly USD 1.49 billion was added to 114 existing projects, 2.5 times higher than the same period last year. Besides, there were 1,797 approved transactions of capital contribution and share purchases by foreign investors in the period with a total value reaching nearly USD 1.13 billion, down 16.2% year-on-year. The number of valid FDI projects in the city at present is 11,007 with total registered capital of USD 55.45 billion.

Photo: Zing

Weather Forecast

The North continuously to be affected by cold air waves. Rain continues in Hanoi and Northern provinces for the first half of the month. Although the cold air waves at the beginning of the month have not yet brought cold weather to the North and Central regions, they are forecasted to bring rain and thunderstorms.

In the North Central provinces, from October 4, heavy rain gradually decreased. In the following days, this area will have scattered showers and thunderstorms. From Quang Tri to Binh Thuan, the Central Highlands and the South will have showers and thunderstorms, and heavy rain. Thunderstorms in the Southern regions are likely to continue for many days to come.