(HBO) – Hoa Binh province has obtained considerable outcomes in exports thanks to the leadership of its Party Committee and People’s Committee, along with a number of sound mechanisms and policies. It has posted year-on-year growth in trade revenue in the 2016 – 2020 period, by 28.5 percent on average. However, what have been achieved so far have yet to match local potential and strength. The province is now expecting a breakthrough in the export of key and typical commodities, thereby creating strong momentum for its economic development.
In 2020, the Son Thuy longan of Xuan Thuy commune, Kim
Boi district, was shipped to China, opening up great opportunities for the
province’s farm produce.
Despite numerous difficulties in 2020, Hoa Binh
earned an impressive 1.032 billion USD from exports, a surge from 340 million
USD in 2016 and 616.15 million USD in 2018, representing annual growth of 30
percent on average. Besides, last year’s imports stood at about 875 million
USD, contributing to total trade turnover of 1.907 billion USD, up 3.5 times
from 2015.
In 2020, electronic products brought home some
577 million USD, textile-garment 332 million USD, farm produce 9.7 million USD,
and other commodities 25 million USD. Most of them were shipped to such
traditional markets as the US, the UK, the Republic of Korea, Japan, and China.
Goods from Hoa Binh have also been exported to some new markets that are also
members of the free trade agreements Vietnam has taken part in like the
Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)
and the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA). In particular, the EVFTA,
taking effect in 2020, has enabled Vietnamese businesses, including those in
the province, to engage in more value chains, helping to expand both export and
import markets in the time to come.
Local exports are mainly electronic components
and apparel while the proportion of agricultural products in total overseas
shipments remains modest. Hoa Binh still lacks processed farm produce with high
quality while production costs are still high, leading to weak competitiveness
and low prices. The dependence on certain traditional markets also poses risks
of damage to local firms when those markets suffer from strong fluctuations. In
addition, the limited connectivity among businesses has also affected the
quality and competitiveness of export items.
Pham Tien Dung, Director of the provincial
Department of Industry and Trade, said the province’s exports topped 1 billion
USD in 2020, most of which still generated by electronics, apparel, and steel
products. Although Hoa Binh is home to many key and strong agricultural
products, farm produce still play a very modest part in total exports.
Facing this fact, last year, the industry and
trade sector proactively proposed provincial authorities issue a greatly
important plan which is promoting key agricultural products of the province for
2020 – 2025, with a vision to 2030.
Products for export must satisfy very strict
criteria, especially those destined for Europe, he said, describing this as a
major issue to the industry and trade sector and that active coordination among
sectors, particularly the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the
Farmers’ Union, and the Cooperative Alliance, and district-level authorities,
to carry out this plan well.
Expressing his sector’s wish is to propose
measures for attracting investment from processing companies, Dung pointed out
that despite a relatively large output and multiple supplies of Cao Phong
orange, Tan Lac pomelo, fish and shrimp farmed on the Da River, and some other
specialties, the produce have just been sold in the raw form but not been
processed for export.
The official expressed his hope that thanks to
drastic directions by the provincial Party Committee and People’s Committee,
along with support from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Hoa Binh will
manage to attract investment from big and potential businesses, thereby
creating momentum for industrial production and exports.
To boost exports’ competitiveness, the
provincial Party Committee and People’s Committee have also been directing the
maintenance and expansion of exports to traditional markets, as well as the
exploration of new markets to gradually reduce dependence on certain single
markets and improve product value.
Authorities of Hoa Binh have also been stepping
up assistance for enterprises to make investment, expand export markets,
cooperate with foreign partners, and reinforce ties with other countries’
localities, especially those the province has set up official relations with,
Dung said.
They have requested stronger support for firms
to build export development strategies for some key products, apply scientific
and technical advances to improve productivity and product quality, clarify key
commodities and markets, and identify the competitiveness of each key product
so as to take measures to address weaknesses and help local products stretch
their reach to global markets, according to the official./.
According to data from the Hoa Binh Provincial Party Committee, the industrial production index for the first six months of 2025 is estimated to have increased by 20% compared to the same period last year. This marks the highest year-on-year growth rate for this period since 2020.
In the first six months of 2025, Hoa Binh province’s export turnover was estimated at 1.145 billion USD, marking an 18.11% increase compared to the same period in 2024. Import turnover was estimated at $ 804 million, a 17.15% increase, which helped the province maintain a positive trade balance.
The lives of the ethnic minority farmers in Tan Lac district have gradually improved thanks to the new directions in agricultural production. This is a testament to the collective strength fostered through the professional associations and groups implemented by various levels of the district’s Farmers’ Union.
With the motto the "product quality comes first,” after nearly one year of establishment and operation, Muong village’s Clean Food Agricultural and Commercial Cooperative, located in Cau Hamlet, Hung Son Commune (Kim Boi district), has launched reputable, high-quality agricultural products to the market that are well-received by consumers. The products such as Muong village’s pork sausage, salt-cured chicken, and salt-cured pork hocks have gradually carved out a place in the market and they are on the path to obtaining the OCOP certification.
In the past, the phrase "bumper harvest, rock-bottom prices" was a familiar refrain for Vietnamese farmers engaged in fragmented, small-scale agriculture. But today, a new spirit is emerging across rural areas of Hoa Binh province - one of collaboration, organisation, and collective economic models that provide a stable foundation for production.
Maintaining growing area codes and packing facility codes in accordance with regulations is a mandatory requirement for agricultural products to be eligible for export. Recently, the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Hoa Binh province has intensified technical supervision of designated farming areas and packing facilities to safeguard the "green passport" that enables its products to access international markets.
