Businesses increase export orders at the end of the year

Many textile and garment enterprises have improved orders in the last period of the year - Photo: NGOC HIEN

However, many businesses still face difficulties when the value of each order is lower, exchange rate pressure remains heavy and production costs increase.

Textile exports are warming up

Speaking to Tuoi Tre on July 14, many textile and garment enterprises said they had received enough orders for the third quarter and were negotiating contracts for the fourth quarter. Mr. Than Duc Viet - General Director of May 10 Corporation - said that May 10's export orders were filled until the end of October 2024. Mr. Viet predicted that in the last six months of the year, orders would be more active thanks to the holiday season such as Christmas, New Year's Day and Lunar New Year.

Mr. Tran Nhu Tung - Vice President of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS) - commented that if there are no major fluctuations in the world, the textile and garment market will warm up significantly in the last six months of 2024. The main reason is that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) has a plan to reduce interest rates, along with the year-end shopping season, consumer demand will increase.

However, Mr. Tung said that the biggest challenge for the textile industry is not the lack of orders but the low value of orders. "Many businesses do not dare to accept orders because the prices are too low. Small orders and low prices make it difficult to recruit enough workers for production, and there is a high risk of delivering on time and making a profit," Mr. Tung said.

Mr. Pham Quang Anh - Director of Dony Garment Company - confirmed that his company was fortunate to have a "crowded" number of orders until the end of September, but the orders were low-value and short-term. He said that in recent years, his company had to accept a decrease in profit per product to 60-70% compared to before and assessed that this was a long-term trend, not due to economic difficulties.

Good news from fruit and vegetable exports

According to information from many gardeners, the price of durian is currently on the rise. Many gardeners in the Central Highlands have agreed with traders on the price of Thai durian at 90,000 - 95,000 VND/kg, an increase of 15,000 - 20,000 VND/kg compared to 1 - 2 months ago (the main crop season in the Southern region).

Mr. Nguyen Tan Dat, owner of a fruit export company in Ho Chi Minh City, said that the main season for durian in Thailand and Malaysia is from April to July, so at this time of the season, there is not much output to compete with Vietnamese goods. China focuses on importing from Vietnam, leading to high durian prices.

"In August and September, the Central Highlands region will enter the durian harvest season, and the price of grade 1 may increase to 95,000 - 100,000 VND/kg. The durian output in the Central Highlands region accounts for half of the country, so the high selling price means the export value of this product will be very good," Mr. Dat commented.

Speaking to Tuoi Tre on July 14, Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen - General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association - said that it is estimated that in the first six months of the year, Vietnam exported about 1.5 billion USD worth of durian. With this price increase, the remaining six months could reach an additional 1.8 - 2 billion USD. "If all goes well, the export value of durian this year could reach 3.5 billion USD, a sharp increase compared to the level of more than 2.3 billion USD in 2023," Mr. Nguyen said.

Meanwhile, the transaction prices of many other agricultural products are also at a good level. The price of green coffee beans has been quite high for many months, fluctuating between 115,000 - 127,000 VND/kg depending on the type, a historical high in this industry, and 2 - 3 times higher than the common level last year. A representative of the Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association said that with global supply forecast to decrease, compared to previous years, coffee prices in the coming time will likely remain at a good level for a long time.

Orders have increased

Speaking to Tuoi Tre, a representative of Duy Anh Foods Company (HCMC) said that compared to the low point last year, the export volume of vermicelli, dried noodles, rice paper of all kinds... is increasing better, especially to the key market of Europe. In addition, new markets, neighboring markets such as Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia... also have good signs when customer demand in the last six months of the year increased significantly compared to the beginning of the year.

Mr. Nguyen Phuoc Hung - Vice President of the Ho Chi Minh City Business Association - said that the food processing industry has many favorable market conditions, so it has achieved very encouraging results: the cumulative export of products in this industry in the first five months reached over 2 billion USD, an increase of nearly 70% over the same period in 2023. Notably, the group of domestic enterprises is accounting for the main proportion, up to more than 93% compared to FDI enterprises.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/doanh-nghiep-tang-don-hang-xuat-khau-dip-cuoi-nam-20240715000825685.htm