Vietnam firms expecting more orders for the rest of 2023

HANOI: Although difficulties remain, enterprises expect to see slight improvements in orders in the coming months, pinning hopes on easing inflationary pressure for a better year in 2024.

Pham Tung Linh, deputy director general of Duc Giang Garment Co Ltd, said that garment companies had been in a lot of difficulties in the first half of this year.

The sector saw a drop of 16.7% in January to July over the same period last year to US$21.5bil, initial statistics of the Industry and Trade Ministry showed.

However, positive signs were emerging from major export markets of Vietnam where inflationary pressure was easing.

Linh said that orders were returning, and his company was speeding up looking for orders for 2023.

Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association said that the garment sector would see increases in orders in the remaining months of this year, which would contribute to offsetting the fall in the first half of this year.

The association reset the export target at US$39bil to US$40bil this year, around 10% lower than 2022.

The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors (Vasep) forecast that in favourable conditions, seafood export could reach more than US$4bil in the last five months of this year, bringing the total revenue to more than US$9bil for the full year, meaning a drop of 15% to 16% against 2022.

Vasep said that the grounds for the forecast included positive economic developments in major markets which would fuel consumption demand. In addition, demand in markets such as the United States and China tended to increase when the inventories were dwindling, and orders were prepared for the year-end festivals and the New Year.

Phan Thi Thanh Xuaa, deputy president of Vietnam Leather Footwear and Handbag Association, said that inventories in major markets, including the United States, were falling, creating room for distributors to place new orders.

She said that Vietnam continued to be the choice of major brands such as Nike and Sketchers.

Still, difficulties would continue, Xuan said, adding that not until the first quarter of 2024, could the footwear industry get out of trouble.

She said that strengthening trade promotion was important to help enterprises find orders and overcome the difficult time.

The Industry and Trade Ministry asked trade offices in foreign markets to increase trade exchange to create opportunities for increasing exports, adding that although domestic and global economic situations were forecast to continue in difficulties, demand for imports would gradually recover in the remaining months of this year.

According to Nguyen Tien Quang, director of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry branch in Da Nang, the world’s aggregate demand was showing signs of recovery, and the inflation was forecast to have peaked, meaning that it would be on a decrease. This would lead to a recovery in trade and an increase in employment.

There was a reason for the expectation that exports would see an increase in the remaining months, Quang said.

He pointed out that the loosening monetary policies in many countries would help production and trade have a chance to recover, especially in major markets such as the United States and the European Union (EU).

The Vietnam Trade Office in the United States urged Vietnamese firms to invest in production to upgrade technologies toward lowering emissions to meet increasing requirements from buyers.

Tran Ngoc Quan, Vietnamese trade counsellor in Belgium and the EU said that although the demand in the EU decreases, the EU’s standards for goods were increased, forcing producers to renovate production to meet requirements in terms of sustainable development, environmental protection, and carbon emission.

He urged enterprises to study market requirements carefully as well as new global trends in production and consumption to have appropriate transition in production for sustainable exports. — Viet Nam News/ANN