Vietnam Industry and Trade News Bulletin for November 11, 2025

A. POSITIVE NEWS

1. Impressive Trade Growth in First 10 Months Vietnam maintained impressive import-export growth of over 17% in the first 10 months of 2025, reaching a total value of over $762 billion.

• Surplus: The trade surplus reached nearly $20 billion.
• Outlook: With exports increasing by 16.2%, the country is on track to hit a record $900 billion in total trade turnover for the year. Businesses are adapting well to new standards to maintain effective foreign trade .

2. Cashew Exports Exceed $3.7 Billion In the first 10 months, cashew exports reached 581,000 tons, earning $3.76 billion.

• Growth: This represents a 2.4% decrease in volume but an 18.7% increase in value compared to the same period last year.
• Price: The average export price reached $6,451/ton, up 22.3%.
• Markets: The US remains the largest market (accounting for 27.2% of turnover), followed by China (16.6%) and the Netherlands (9.3%) .

B. GENERAL ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS

1. Minister of Industry and Trade Meets US Trade Representative On November 10 (local time), Minister Nguyen Hong Dien met with US Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer in Washington D.C.

• Focus: The meeting aimed to discuss and resolve specific issues in the ongoing negotiations for a Reciprocal Trade Agreement between Vietnam and the US.
• Goal: To conclude the agreement early, establishing a stable and preferential legal framework for bilateral trade .

2. Standard Chartered Raises Vietnam GDP Forecast to 6.7% Standard Chartered Bank has raised its GDP growth forecast for Vietnam in 2025 to 6.7% (up from 6.0%).

• Drivers: The revision is driven by better-than-expected economic performance in Q3 (GDP grew 7.52%), supported by strong manufacturing, exports (electronics, textiles), and retail sales.
• Inflation: Inflation is forecast to remain stable at 3.2% for the year .

C. ENERGY

1. Wind Power Investors Petition PM over EVN Mobilization Stop Three wind power investors (Ia Pet – Dak Doa 1 & 2, and Yang Trung) have petitioned the Prime Minister after EVN stopped mobilizing their power output.

• Issue: The Power Trading Company (EPTC) announced the suspension of mobilization and payments due to the expiration of the temporary pricing mechanism, while the official PPA negotiation is stalled pending guidance on the pricing framework for transitional projects.
• Impact: Investors face bankruptcy risks due to lack of revenue to repay bank loans (totaling nearly 6,000 billion VND) .

2. Proposal to Pilot Offshore Wind Power The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) is consulting on a draft resolution for a pilot offshore wind power project.

• Assignee: The proposal suggests assigning a State-owned economic group (specifically Petrovietnam) to invest in the pilot project to ensure national security and leverage existing offshore expertise.
• Reason: Private and foreign investors face hurdles related to security, defense, and lack of a clear legal framework for sea area usage .

3. Electricity Prices and Consumer CPI The General Statistics Office (GSO) assesses that the recent 4.8% electricity price hike will not significantly impact the CPI in 2025 (estimated increase of 0.04 percentage points). However, the delayed impact will be felt more in 2026. The government continues to control inflation within the target .

D. EXPORT – IMPORT

1. Rice Export Prices Decrease Vietnam’s 5% broken rice export price dropped by $13/ton to $524/ton last week.

• Reason: Competitive pressure from India (which recently removed the price floor for non-basmati rice) and Thailand ($490/ton).
• Domestic Market: Domestic paddy prices in the Mekong Delta also fell slightly as the harvest progresses .

2. Opportunities for Vietnamese Goods in Latin America A delegation of 19 Vietnamese businesses participated in the 39th Havana International Fair (FIHAV 2025) in Cuba to promote products like agri-food, consumer goods, and construction materials. This is a gateway to expand exports to the Latin American and Caribbean markets .

3. “Green Standards” for Food & Beverage Industry To maintain competitiveness, the F&B industry must accelerate its green transition.

• Initiative: The High Quality Vietnamese Goods Association has launched new criteria for its 2026 survey, focusing on “green standards” such as sustainable sourcing, renewable energy use, and carbon footprint tracking. This aims to help businesses meet strict requirements from export markets like the EU .

E. DOMESTIC MARKET

1. Retail Market to Reach $350 Billion by 2030 The domestic retail market is currently worth $180 billion and is forecast to reach $350 billion by 2030.

• Trends: The market is shifting towards modern retail channels, e-commerce, and green consumption.
• Support: The “Domestic Market Development Strategy to 2030” aims to strengthen Vietnamese goods in distribution channels and support SMEs in digital transformation .

2. Gold Market Management The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) is ready to intervene in the gold market to narrow the gap between domestic and international prices.

• Measures: SBV will continue bidding sessions to supply SJC gold bars and encourage the digitization of gold transactions to ensure transparency .

F. INDUSTRY & TECHNOLOGY

1. Digital Technology Revenue Hits $118 Billion In the first 9 months of 2025, the digital technology industry’s revenue reached $118 billion (up 17.8%).

• Exports: Hardware and electronics exports reached nearly $100 billion.
• FDI: The sector continues to attract major FDI projects in semiconductors and AI, reinforcing Vietnam’s position in the global tech supply chain