Hanoi (VNA) – Minister of Industry and Trade TranTuan Anh has emphasised the need to change policies and mechanisms to encouragebusinesses to participate in national, regional and global supply chains.

The minister gave a presentation at the fifth meeting of the14th National Assembly on May 26 on a number of issues related toexport and export markets, the “rescue” of farm produce oversupply, the supportindustry and ineffective investment projects.

Anh said export has been on the right track in recent yearswith a shift to processed and manufactured products. The country has alsoestablished trade ties with more than 200 countries and markets, and joinedmany free trade pacts.

However, he admitted that export growth is unsustainable dueto unstable and inconsistent product quality.

“This remains a big obstacle to Vietnam in building itsbrand name, developing value chains and meeting requirements of free tradeagreements as well as international commercial practices in terms of productorigin and quality,” he said.

Besides, Vietnam still depends too much on major markets, suchas China and the EU, he said, noting that if the country cannot ensure productquality and overcome technical barriers, especially those regarding food safetyand quarantine, exports to those markets will not be sustainable.

On the oversupply of some farm produce, the minister saidthe problem lies in the loose coordination between State management agenciesand ministries in studying, monitoring and analysing market signs in order tolink the market with production. The next step after market study is to assistfarmers in production, according to the official.

Regarding the support, manufacturing and processingindustries, Anh said the industrial sector records an average annual growthrate of about 9.7 percent, while the rate for the manufacturing-processingindustry is 14.5 percent. Such high growth rates provide a driving force foreconomic development and national industrialization.  

However, he said, there are only more than 1,800 businesses operatingin the support industry, of which 0.32 percent of them are involved in themanufacturing and processing sector.

“As Vietnamese enterprises are mostly of micro, small andmedium sizes with limited capacity and technology, it is hard for Vietnam  to get access to the support industry of theregion and the world,” he said.

Moreover, the fierce competition in the context ofinternational integration and globalisation has put huge pressure on Vietnamesesupport firms, he said, suggesting that favourable conditions should continueto be created for domestic enterprises to utilise opportunities generated byinternational integration so as to access global technologies and markets.

Assistance should also be offered to domestic firms injoining supply chains, he said, adding that the quality of human resourcesneeds to be improved to spur the support industry.

Speaking on ineffective investment projects, Minister Anh saidthe steering committee for dealing with those projects have built plans tohandle the 12 key projects.

The minister said so far among six major projects stoppedworking due to losses, two have resumed operation with profit, though modest,which are the Hai Phong DAP fertilizer plant and the Vietnam-China steel plant.

The PVTex Dinh Vu also resumed the operation of oneproduction chain and signed a sale contract with a foreign partner.

At the Thai Nguyen Iron and Steel Plant, about 1 trillionVND worth of State capital has been withdrawn from the project and proceduresare underway to divest all State capital, thus allowing new investors to workwith contractors.

Minister Anh stressed that besides the economic aspect,another important issue is to handle law violations of individuals and units inthose projects. He said functional agencies, including the Ministry of PublicSecurity, the Government Inspectorate, the State Audit and inspection agenciesof the Ministries of Industry and Trade and Finance, have conductedinvestigations into those cases. -VNA