VIETNAM: Plastics industry posts 7.2 percent increase in output in 2019

The plastics industry produced 8.89 million tons of products in 2019, up 7.2 percent from the previous year, and earned USD 17.58 billion in total revenues, it was reported at a conference held by the Vietnam Plastics Association in HCM City on 3 January 2020.

Packaging accounts for the largest share in the industry’s value structure with 35 percent, followed by construction plastics 24 percent, household products 22 percent and technical products 19 percent. The industry also recorded a 12.2 percent increase in export value to more than USD 3.4 billion in 2019. Japan and the European Union are the two biggest export market of Vietnam’s plastic products.

Chairman of the association Ho Duc Lam noted that the Finance Ministry has agreed to maintain the current tariff of 3 percent on polypropylene plastic (PP) pellets until the end of 2022, which he said is a positive sign for the industry. According to the association, with an average growth of 10 percent a year, the industry needs nearly 2 million tons of by the end of 2022. Domestic production can meet only 38 percent of this volume. Therefore, any tariff rise will affect the industry’s competitiveness.

Source: Daily “VietnamPlus”, Hanoi; 3 Jan 2020
(Syed Rashid Ali, Karachi, Pakistan)