USD 8.1 billion
That is the level of imports of goods from the US to Vietnam in the first seven months of 2019, the highest increase over the same period from 2015 to the present.
Many products from the US are increasing strongly to Vietnam , in the first 6 months of the year has increased billions of dollars.
In recent days, there are quite a few Vietnamese people come to shop at the branch of the supermarket chain that sells goods imported from the US.Mart on Tran Hung Dao Street (District 1, Ho Chi Minh City).
A series of American consumer products, drinks, fruits, confectionery ... are filled with supermarkets at prices ranging from a few dozen to hundreds of thousands of VND per product. In particular, fruits, especially cherries, American grapes at the price of 279,000 - 419,000 VND / kg depending on type.
Easy to enter, soft price
Carrying a shopping cart with many kinds of soft drinks and sweets from American brands, Ms. Huynh Thi Tam (from District 1) said that these are consumer goods that she has been shopping for many years. Not only did she herself use American clothes, Ms. Tam’s relatives also often bought many American fruits on the occasion of the holiday.
Similarly, Ms. Nguyen Thanh Thao (from District 3) often chooses to buy cereal and fruit powder. "The price is double, triple compared to domestic goods but assured of quality, so I often buy American goods for my family and give my relatives" - Ms. Thao said.
Mr. Le Huu Thinh - representative of US Mart Co., Ltd - said that in the past few years, the number of products imported from the US that this company sells through supermarkets as well as through distributors has increased rapidly. double, triple. The best selling items are soft drinks, chocolates, fruits, drinks for sports people, children’s toys with candy ...
According to Mr. Thinh, in the past, the import of goods from the United States was quite difficult in transportation and customs clearance procedures, but now the procedures are quite open, so American goods are imported very conveniently both in terms of quantity and quantity. chemical.
According to Mr. Vo Huy Hoang - Director of Binh Thuan Vegetable and Fruit Company, in the first 6 months of this year, the amount of fruits imported from the US increased. Especially thanks to the good price with only about 200,000 VND / kg, the cherry imported from the US is very much, can increase more than 80% compared to last year.
In addition, US apples are not yet in the main season but the ability to import also increases sharply due to diverse supply. American grapes have entered the crop, currently imported to Vietnam quite a lot with soft prices, the ability to increase by 60% compared to the same period in 2018.
Many types of goods imported from the US are sold at US.Mart supermarket in District 1 (HCMC) - Photo: NGOC HIEN
American agricultural companies "landed"
From the end of last year until now, successive business delegations and associations of American agricultural organizations come to Vietnam to seek opportunities to expand their markets. Many kinds of agricultural products and "specialty" food of the US "landed" in Vietnam.
In April 2014, about 38 trade associations and US food and beverage companies were present in Vietnam to introduce beef, pork, poultry and dairy products such as cheese and ice cream, potatoes, pecan nuts, dried beans, popcorn, raisins and blueberries.
Representative of the US Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City said that bilateral trade between Vietnam and the US in 2018 in the field of agricultural products and food reached a record level of 8.6 billion USD, up 26% over the same period last year. 2017. In which the US exported to Vietnam 4.5 billion USD, up 50% compared to 2017 with commodities from corn, soy, meat, milk ...
Vietnam is the 6th largest market of the US in the field of agricultural products and foodstuffs. "Consumption of beef, butter and milk products imported from the US into Vietnam is growing quite well" - representative of the US Consulate General said.
According to the representative of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ho Chi Minh City (Amcham), US agricultural and food products in Vietnam have increased rapidly over the past time due to the remarkable improvement of Vietnam’s per capita income. Consumers are increasingly willing to buy US foods that are said to be safe and high quality.
In addition, technical barriers and market opening are being lifted by both sides to help market access of US agricultural products to Vietnam more favorable.
Producing yarn at Phong Phu Corporation, District 9, Ho Chi Minh City with cotton materials imported from the US - Photo: QUANG DINH
American lobster is sold at a store in Ho Chi Minh City - Photo: NGUYEN TRI
US seafood also increased strongly
Mr. Nguyen Van Ngoc - vice president of the association of Southeastern Livestock - said that in the context of pork consumption decreased due to concerns about African swine cholera, it is unusual for chicken farmers to sell at too low prices. This has a significant impact of imported frozen chicken on Vietnam in recent months, including American chicken. There are lots of imported goods with very cheap prices, only 0.8-1 USD / kg, ie 20,000-24,000 VND / kg.
"We have been surveying in the US and Europe, but the cost of raising chickens from other countries cannot produce chicken at such a cheap price. This could be unclear meat of traceability or quality problems or near-expiry date "- Mr. Ngoc said.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in the first 5 months of this year, Vietnam imported over 107 million USD of poultry, up 46% over the same period last year. In addition, businesses also spent over 602 million USD to import cattle and chicken byproducts for domestic consumption. Import sources are quite diverse from the US, EU, India, Korea ...
With seafood products, Mr. To Anh Kiet - Director of Amanda Seafood Company (Ho Chi Minh City) - said that the amount of fresh lobster imported from the US by the airline is about 2 tons per week, and goods are frozen by sea approximately hundreds of tons. Particularly in early November to February of the following year, the volume of imported goods will double, tripling due to increasing demand and decreasing domestic supply.
However, according to Mr. Kiet, the difficulty is that the goods imported from the US must transit in Taiwan, Hong Kong only flies to Vietnam, so the price of imported goods is often high and the risk rate is like dead goods and big losses. Meanwhile, Vietnam has to compete with China (the market consumes most of American lobster), because although the US is in a trade war, many businesses from the US still export to China thanks to "transfer of households." export "across countries.
According to Mr. Tran Van Truong - Director of Hoang Gia Seafood Company (Ho Chi Minh City), the volume of seafood imported from the beginning of the year has increased about 20% over the same period, mostly lobster.
According to Mr. Truong, there are many factors that make American seafood imported as much as natural goods, good food, good season ... However, the new factor is the Chinese (the market accounts for the majority of seafood. US exports, particularly lobster accounted for 80%) applied 25% tax for this item imported from the US. Therefore, the US lowered the price and tried to export to other countries.
