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BUSINESS REPORT

Watching & waiting

There is little that Vietnamese exporters can do but be patient and hope
that the various issues in export markets eventually change for the better.
By LUU HA

rders in the wood and textile sectors Orders at the Gia Dinh Group Corporation supply chain traceability, and carbon emis-
both headed upwards in the opening surged over 30 per cent, ensuring employ- sions reductions are now being enforced.
O quarter of 2024. Several enterprises ment for its workers until September or This poses a significant challenge for many
have managed to secure orders to the end October. Elsewhere, the TKG Taekwang manufacturers around the world, including
of the second quarter, with some even Vina JSC at the Bien Hoa 2 Industrial those in Vietnam. “If we hope to take
having orders extending into the third Park in the southern province of Binh part in supply chains, compliance with
quarter. However, Vietnamese exporters Duong is looking to recruit 1,000 more such measure is the only way forward,”
in general remain uneasy as they wait for workers after securing a raft of new orders. she emphasized.
prices to recover amid global uncertainties Meanwhile, Mr. Nguyen Hoai Bao,
and lower consumer spending in certain Business Deputy Chairman of the Handicraft and
major markets. They are also grappling concerns Wood Industry Association of Ho Chi
with numerous challenges in implementing According to Ms. Phan Thi Thanh Minh City (HAWA), said that while orders
new mechanisms such as Extended Pro- Xuan, General Secretary of the Vietnam in the timber industry showed more prom-
ducer Responsibility (EPR) and the Carbon Leather, Footwear and Handbag Associ- ise in early 2024 than in 2023, they are
ation (LEFASO), Vietnam’s footwear indus- still behind levels seen in 2021 and 2022.
Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).
The leather and footwear industry try has been confronting a host of chal- As with footwear, major markets such as
maintained its position as a leader in export lenges. In the EU, for example, a series of the US and the EU have now exhausted
turnover in April, posting $1.956 billion. regulations regarding eco-products, EPR, their inventories and are placing orders

28 Vietnam Economic Times May 27, 2024 en.vneconomy.vn