Covid-19 hasn’t harmed Vietnamese exporters to Japan and Korea yet

Le Thi Thanh Lam, deputy general director of Sai Gon Food Joint Stock Company told local media: “The export of frozen processed foods to Japan has not been affected at all. Instead, it is better than before. Before, Saigon Food exported an average of 1,000 tonnes of products each month. This has increased by 20 per cent.”

Lam said: “The orders have doubled, but we can’t meet demand. We can only provide another 20 per cent to keep the quality of the products.”

Lam said raw materials for the export products were imported from Japan and some European countries. They would be then processed and re-exported to the Japanese market.

Her firm saw a doubling in the domestic market for hotpots, instant food, vermicelli, noodles and fresh porridge for children.

Exporting bananas to Japan, Korea, Malaysia and China, Vo Quan Huy, director of An Huy Limited Company in Long An Province said: “The export volume to Japan and South Korea was still good and smooth.”

Every month, Huy sent 15 containers with 16 tonnes of bananas each to the two markets.

Huy said though Chinese partners wanted to buy his bananas, he did not have enough fruit to meet their demand.

A representative of Acecook Vietnam, which exports noodles to Japan, said: “The exports are stable,” adding that exports to other markets were still good.

The representative even estimated: “Acecook Vietnam’s export sales plan for 2020 is expected to grow by 10 per cent compared to 2019.”