Industry and Trade News March 31: Lack of mechanism for waste electricity; coffee export aims for 8 billion USD

Energy sector:

In Giao thong newspaper there is an article: " Garbage electricity pressure".

Waste-to-energy projects with the main goal of environmental treatment for the provinces, however, the mechanism is not attractive enough, making investors hesitant to "put down money".

According to experts, to maximize the development of waste-to-energy, there needs to be a more stable electricity purchase price policy to increase attractiveness to investors.

Waste-to-energy plant. Illustration photo

Experts say it is necessary to create preferential financial mechanisms such as loan interest rate support or credit guarantees to reduce risks for banks.

In addition, it is also necessary to promote waste classification at source to improve the efficiency of waste-to-energy plants.

"Without strong reforms in policies and financial mechanisms, attracting investment in waste-to-energy will continue to face difficulties, and Vietnam may miss the opportunity to take advantage of this resource to develop a clean, sustainable energy industry," an energy expert emphasized.

Thanh Nien newspaper has an article: "Prime Minister requests to amend regulations on gasoline quality 'without waste or group interests'"

According to this dispatch, at the Government Standing Committee meeting on receiving and explaining Government members' opinions on the draft Decree replacing Decree 83/2014 of the Government on petroleum trading and Decrees amending and supplementing Decree 83/2014, the Prime Minister gave the following instructions.

Specifically, the Prime Minister requested the Ministry of Science and Technology, according to its functions, tasks and authority, to urgently amend, supplement and perfect regulations related to quality measurement in petroleum business in Circular 15/2015, amended and supplemented in Circular 08/2018.

The amendment must ensure scientific, effective, suitable to practical requirements, economical, creating a favorable environment to help petroleum businesses develop in accordance with current legal regulations. In particular, the Prime Minister noted "absolutely not allowing negativity, waste, group interests, taking advantage of policies for personal gain; ensuring promulgation before April 15, 2025".

Import and export sector

The magazine Brand Public Opinion published the information : "Explaining the reasons for the increase in imported agricultural products".

According to Mr. Nguyen Quoc Hung - Director of the Department of Tax, Fee and Charge Policy Management and Supervision (Ministry of Finance), this tax policy amendment not only helps improve the trade balance with partners but also encourages businesses to diversify their import sources, creating direct benefits for domestic consumers.

From the perspective of observers, expanding the list of fresh fruits imported from the US will contribute to boosting the export turnover of US agricultural products to Vietnam.

Vietnam + Newspaper published the information: " Coffee exports aim for a record of 8 billion USD".

It is estimated that in the first quarter of 2025, coffee exports will reach about 2.8 billion USD.

The Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association estimates that coffee exports will reach about 2.8 billion USD in the first quarter of 2025. According to data from the Vietnam Customs Department, from the beginning of the year to March 15, Vietnam exported 406,637 tons of coffee, with a turnover of 2.28 billion USD, up 41% in value compared to the same period in 2024. The reason for the sharp increase in coffee export turnover is due to a 73% increase in prices, from 3,228 USD/ton in the first quarter of 2024 to 5,614 USD/ton in the first quarter of 2025. If this price level is maintained in the remaining 3 quarters, the whole year could set a record of 8 billion USD.

E-commerce sector

On Bnew.vn newspaper, there is an article: "A series of government agency websites have gambling advertising links inserted".

According to Hanoi City Police, recently, the Department of Cyber ​​Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention of the City Police discovered that many electronic information pages of state agencies (gov.vn) were exploited to install, post, redirect or link to inappropriate advertising content such as card games, gambling, etc. The common feature of this form of attack is that hackers will take advantage of security holes to take control of the website, server, from there insert advertising links, even install malware to access any content, all of which are redirected to gambling and betting websites. The insertion of hidden links advertising online gambling and betting can seriously affect the reputation of state agencies, potentially causing a loss of network security, information security, and increasing crimes related to betting and gambling.

Vietnam has great potential for cross-border e-commerce.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, e-commerce not only plays a pivotal role in the digital economy, promoting domestic market development, but also plays an important role in promoting export activities.

Ms. Lai Viet Anh - Deputy Director of the Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy - said that Vietnam is an export economy, increasingly integrating deeply with the regional and world economy, and has strengths in textiles, footwear, rice, agricultural products, etc., so the room and potential for cross-border e-commerce is huge.

"One of the tasks set out in the National E-commerce Development Master Plan for the 2026-2030 period (the Ministry of Industry and Trade is submitting it to the Government for promulgation) is to develop e-commerce towards exporting "Made in Vietnam" products to international markets. At the same time, support small and medium enterprises and manufacturers to improve their competitiveness so that they can promote sales to the global market," Ms. Lai Viet Anh emphasized.

Tuoi Tre newspaper published an article: "The Ministry of Finance proposes to exempt import tax for goods worth 1 million or less via e-commerce."

The Ministry of Finance has proposed that e-commerce import orders worth VND1 million or less be exempt from import tax. Thus, compared to current regulations, the value of tax-exempt goods will be halved, from VND2 million to VND1 million.

Domestic market sector

Tien Phong newspaper published an article: "Cassava prices plummeted the most in the past 10 years".

According to statistics from the Customs Department, in the first two months of this year, our country exported nearly 723,800 tons of cassava and cassava products, with a value of 233.7 million USD. Compared to the same period last year, although the volume of exported cassava increased by 14.9%, the value decreased sharply by 19%.

Notably, the average export price of this item decreased by 28.5% compared to the same period in 2024, to 327 USD/ton.

In the past two months, China remained the largest customer, accounting for 94% of our country’s cassava export turnover. Accordingly, Vietnamese enterprises exported nearly 693,000 tons of cassava and cassava products to China, earning 219.6 million USD.

According to the Vietnam Cassava Association, due to low consumption demand, high inventory at Chinese ports, slow consumption, while the supply in Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos is abundant, making it easy for this billion-people country to "squeeze prices" to buy cassava at dirt cheap prices.

Dan Tri newspaper has an article: "China massively buys Vietnamese shrimp".

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), in the first two months of the year, Vietnam's shrimp exports reached 605 million USD, up 46% over the same period last year.

Notably, in the first two months of the year, China was the largest import market for Vietnamese shrimp with a value of 204 million USD, accounting for 34% and increasing sharply by 150% compared to the same period last year. According to the association, this impressive growth is mainly due to the continued strong growth in lobster exports to China in the first two months of the year.

Trade defense sector

Saigon Economic Magazine published an article: "US imposes temporary tax on hard capsule shells from Vietnam".

The US Department of Commerce (DOC) has issued a preliminary conclusion of the anti-subsidy investigation into hard capsule shell products (HS codes 9602.00.1040 and 9602.00.5010) imported from Vietnam. According to the newly issued preliminary conclusion, the provisional anti-subsidy tax rate is 2.15%. It is expected that DOC will conduct on-site inspections to verify the information provided by Vietnamese enterprises. This is one of the bases for this agency to issue the final conclusion, giving the official tax rate to Vietnamese enterprises. The Department of Trade Remedies recommends that related enterprises prepare and cooperate well with the US Department of Commerce in the upcoming inspection as well as send comments on the agency's preliminary conclusion if necessary.

On VnEconomy electronic magazine there is an article posted: ''Philippines does not conduct mid-term review of anti-dumping tax order on Vietnamese cement''.

The Trade Defense Department recommends that the Cement Association and cement manufacturing and exporting enterprises to the Philippines regularly monitor information about the case, continue to send comments when necessary and at the request of China; cooperate closely with China in the next stages of the case to avoid being judged as uncooperative; seek support and voice from import partners in the Philippines who share interests with Vietnam to express their views. In particular, it is necessary to inform and closely coordinate with the Trade Defense Department to receive timely support.

Competition and consumer protection

On the Lao Dong Thu Do newspaper, there is an article: "Comprehensive legal framework for consumer protection"

The Law on Consumer Protection 2023 officially takes effect from July 1, 2024, which is considered an important milestone marking the completion of the legal framework for consumer protection. However, to effectively implement this legal framework, propaganda and information dissemination are one of the basic focuses.

Recognizing the important role and necessity of protecting consumer rights, in recent years, the Party and State have focused on directing and issuing important orientations, guidelines and policies to ensure the rights and enhance the position of consumers in society.

The completion of the policy is even more meaningful in the context of strong development of domestic and cross-border e-commerce, with many challenges posed to the protection of legitimate rights of consumers in the online environment.

Industry and Trade Newspaper

Source: https://congthuong.vn/tin-cong-thuong-313-thieu-co-che-cho-dien-rac-xuat-khau-ca-phe-huong-toi-8-ty-usd-380831.html