Within the first 9 months of 2021, nearly 8000 businesses in the Mekong Delta stopped doing business and were dissolved due to the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic.
The state-controlled media reported on October 20, citing sources from the Can Tho branch of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI Can Tho). Specifically, exports of the Mekong Delta in the third quarter of 2021 were said to decrease by 27% compared to the same period in 2020.
Export turnover of the Mekong Delta in August and September 2021 is the lowest ever. Of which, 8/13 provinces in the region have significantly reduced exports. Some provinces saw sharp declines such as Vinh Long, Ben Tre, Tien Giang, Tra Vinh, and Long An. Some provinces have higher import value than the same period, such as Bac Lieu, Ben Tre, Ca Mau and An Giang.
Mr. Nguyen Phuong Lam, Director of VCCI Can Tho, said that the epidemic has made the already difficult Mekong Delta more difficult and lagging behind the whole country. In the first nine months of the year, the Mekong Delta region only had more than 6,000 enterprises established, but nearly 8,000 enterprises were dissolved.
Local budget revenue of the Mekong Delta in the first nine months of 2021 hit about VND90 trillion, less than 50% of the plan.
Since the beginning of October, when the Government allowed the relaxation of the blockade to combat COVID-19, only about 30-50% of businesses in the Mekong Delta have reopened. Currently, the number of enterprises with high labor size is still small because of limitations on the requirement to fully vaccinate employees.
Thoibao.de (Translated)
