Garment products are made for exports at a factory in Thanh Hoá Province. — VNA/VNS Photo Trần Việt

HÀ NỘI — There remain difficulties for enterprises in the last months of this year, requiring them to be proactive and flexible to finish the year with strong export performance. 

Despite posting a positive export turnover over the past ten months with a trade surplus reaching a record level, businesses are still facing market fluctuations while transportation costs have remained very high since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, trade experts have said. 

Thân Đức Việt, general director of Garment 10 Company, told baodautu.vn that there had been a decline in orders for the remaining months of 2022 and even the first half of 2023.

Instead of chasing large-scale orders, his firm focused on completing small-scale orders but could earn high turnover as they would not be easy for many firms due to their complexity, Việt said. 

According to Cao Hữu Hiếu, general director of Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex), Việt Nam and the world economy were still facing many challenges in the fourth quarter. 

Meanwhile, yarn demand and selling prices were still low and many yarn enterprises failed to have orders for November and December.

At the same time, the garment industry encountered more difficulties. Most garment companies saw orders for November and December at about 35-50 per cent lower than their production capacities. The firms had also faced fierce competition in price. 

The director suggested that businesses should base on the situation of domestic and foreign markets to implement business programmes and plans for next year.

They should also draw up measures to respond to negative market situations as well as unpredictable fluctuations of the financial market and interest rates, he told baodautu.vn. 

As an exporter of food materials, ASIA Group said difficulties in business and production were inevitable at the end of 2022 and 2023. Specifically, the appreciation of US dollar would have adverse effects on imports and the supply chain would likely be disrupted. 

In that context, applying high technology to production would help businesses optimise productivity and improve efficiency, director of ASIA Group Lê Nguyên Đoan Duy told baodautu.vn. 

The latest report from the General Statistics Office showed that the country's trade surplus reached US$9.4 billion over the past ten months, compared to a modest $630 million in the same period last year.

The 10-month foreign trade stood at about $616.24 billion, up 14.1 per cent from the same period last year.

That included $312.82 billion in exports, rising 15.9 per cent, with $80.36 billion coming from the domestic sector (up 13.4 per cent) and $232.46 billion from the foreign-invested sector (up 16.8 per cent).

Thirty-two commodities recorded export revenue of over $1 billion each during the period, accounting for 92.8 per cent of total overseas shipments. Among them, six brought home over $10 billion each, making up 64.1 per cent.

Meanwhile, Việt Nam imported about $303.42 billion worth of goods, increasing 12.2 per cent year on year, with the domestic sector accounting for $105.28 billion (up 12.5 per cent) and the foreign invested sector, $198.14 billion (up 12 per cent).

Forty-four commodities posted import value of over $1 billion each, accounting for 93 per cent of the total imports. Four of them saw this figure at over $10 billion each, accounting for 52.7 per cent, statistics showed.

Between January and October, the US was the largest importer, purchasing some $93.4 billion worth of Vietnamese goods. China ranked first among exporters when shipping $100.7 billion worth of goods to Việt Nam.

Việt Nam is on track to see a trade surplus of $10 billion this year despite enduring global market uncertainties and fluctuations, Minister of Trade and Industry Nguyễn Hồng Diên said, adding that this is certainly a spectacular achievement for Việt Nam this year.

He attributed these positive results to solutions the Government, ministries, and especially the business community have implemented to stimulate consumption demand and connect product consumption outlets in order to promote trade exchanges.

In the future, priority would be given to promoting exports, strengthening appropriate import management, and ensuring a harmonious and sustainable trade balance beside to promoting official exports in association with industry restructuring, Diên said.