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After months of contraction due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s impacts, production and export activities are recovering strongly, the Dau tu (Vietnam Investment Review) newspaper reported.

The Lenger Seafoods Vietnam Co. Ltd, based in northern Nam Dinh province, recently exported a batch of canned clam to Europe. This was the first among the 10 containers of 2 million cans to be shipped under a contract with Spain, and the rest will be delivered in 2022.

General Director Nguyen Ho Nguyen said the clam export to a demanding market like the EU is a result of years of improving the production line and seeking new buyers.

Meanwhile, the Trung An Hi-tech Farming JSC, headquartered in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho, said it has won a contract to export 15,000 tonnes of rice to the Republic of Korea. This is the third time this firm has secured a rice export contract with the Northeast Asian market.

Trung An General Director Pham Thai Binh said affected by the pandemic and social distancing measures, his company’s revenue in the third quarter of 2021 fell 8 percent year on year to 500 billion VND (22 million USD). However, its pre-tax profit surged 66 percent thanks to the export of high-quality rice.

In the first 10 months of this year, Vietnam shipped more than 5.1 million tonnes of rice worth nearly 2.7 billion USD, down 4.5 percent in volume but up 2.2 percent in value. The revenue is nearing the year’s target of 3.2 billion USD.

While agricultural products brought home almost 40 billion USD in 11 months, the steel industry has also enjoyed strong growth in exports, topping 10 billion USD as of November 15, thanks to sharp rises in orders and prices.

At a recent discussion, economic expert Vu Dinh Anh said free trade agreements (FTAs) will serve as a boost for trade, helping turn Vietnam into an export powerhouse and a production centre of not only the region but also the whole world.

The Dau tu newspaper said export - import remains a bright spot of the economy thanks to their strong recovery, especially since the Government issued Resolution No. 128/NQ-CP on safe and flexible adaptation to and effective control of COVID-19 on October 11.

The 11-month export revenue stood at 299.67 billion USD, up 17.5 percent year on year.

This year’s total exports will approximate 330 billion USD, leading to a trade surplus, if the pandemic is kept under control and production activities are recovered early, the Ministry of Industry and Trade forecast, explaining that Vietnam has many export advantages thanks to FTAs and surging demand in the year-end shopping season./.