NDO -Japan has officially opened the door for Vietnamese lychee to directly enter this market in the 2020 crop, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD). The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan (MAFF) informed the MARD’s Plant Protection Department of its opening market for Vietnamese “thieu” lychee associated with regulations on plant quarantine in late December 2019. 

NDO - Customs authorities at the Tan Thanh border checkpoint in the northern province of Lang Son cleared 20 container trucks of agricultural produce, consisting of mainly dragon fruit, watermelon and mango, on February 20. 

NDO/VNA – Twenty-one container trucks of dragon fruit, weighing 315 tonnes, and a lorry carrying wood, valued at nearly VND5 billion in total, underwent customs clearance at Thanh Thuy International Border Gate in the northern province of Ha Giang on February 18-19. 

NDO – The Vietnam’s socio-economic development plan in the 2016-2020 period is near the finish line with the visible recovery of GDP and more sustainable economic growth. 

NDO – Representatives from many foreign countries have expressed their appreciation for the European Parliament (EP)’s ratification of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA). 

NDO - The Small and Medium Enterprise Development Fund (SMEDF) has recently signed a framework contract on indirect lending with three banks, including the Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank (MBBank), Saigon - Hanoi Commercial Joint Stock Bank Internal (SHB) and North Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (BacABank). It is expected that one week after the signing, the three banks will complete the guiding documents and disbursement process to provide the first loans to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in mid-March. 

NDO - The complicated and unpredictable developments of the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus, known as Covid-19, are presenting numerous challenges to the realisation of Vietnam’s socio-economic targets in 2020, given its far-reaching impacts on all aspects. 

NDO/VNA - Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh has asked the northern provinces of Lang Son and Quang Ninh to resume imports, exports and transport of goods through three sub-border gates in the two localities after a suspension due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). 

NDO/VNA - HCM City is providing assistance to the manufacturing sector to sustain industrial growth. 

NDO – The European Parliament (EP) recently voted to officially ratify the European Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA). After nearly 10 years of negotiations, the approval of the EVFTA by both Vietnam and the EU has offered a new horizon for greater and more comprehensive cooperation and stronger development, meeting the needs of the people and businesses of the two sides. 

NDO/VNA – The Ministry of Industry and Trade has repeatedly urged Vietnamese exporters to reduce deliveries of goods via Vietnam-China border checkpoints, except for official-channel exports or that Chinese partners can confirm to take delivery of the goods. 

NDO/VNA – The volume of goods imported from and exported to China through border gates in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai has continuously increased in recent days amid the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak. 

NDO/VNA - The Dragon Fruit Association of southern Long An province exports 50 tonnes of dragon fruit a day on average to China and other Southeast Asian nations by sea as export by road has faced lots of difficulties due to the outbreak of the acute respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). 

NDO - The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) was officially ratified by the European Parliament with 401 votes for (accounting for 63.33%) and the EVFTA dossier is being completed to be submitted to the Vietnamese President and the National Assembly (NA) for approval at the upcoming NA meeting in May. According to the progress, EVFTA may officially come into force in July this year. Time is running out and Vietnamese businesses need to be ready to overcome difficulties as well as taking advantage of the opportunities from the agreement.