Vietnam Industry and Trade News Bulletin for November 28, 2025
A. POSITIVE NEWS
1. Vietnam – China Agricultural Trade Accelerates, Expanding Cooperation Space According to Ms. Qi Bing, General Director of Sunwah Gelafood Group (Hong Kong – China), Vietnam-China agricultural trade is accelerating thanks to 5 factors: large market size, supportive policies, new business models, smart technology, and prospects for full value chain cooperation . With a population of 1.4 billion and a rapidly growing middle class, China has become a strategic market for Vietnamese agricultural products with high safety standards and diverse, stable quality requirements. A prominent model helping Vietnamese agricultural products quickly reach the Chinese market is community group-buying.
2. Vietnam Lobster Exports Reach Record $712 Million in 10 Months Vietnam’s lobster exports in the first 10 months of 2025 reached $712 million, an increase of 135%, a rare growth rate, thanks to huge demand from China . According to Vietnam Customs data, lobster exports continued to surge in October 2025, reaching $93 million, up 75% year-on-year. Green lobsters remain the key product, accounting for 98% of total turnover, reaching $700 million and increasing by 141% after 10 months.
3. Establishing a New Import-Export Milestone Vietnam has just set a new import-export milestone, reaching over $800 billion by mid-November, opening up prospects of hitting nearly $1 trillion this year. Latest preliminary statistics from the General Department of Customs show that Vietnam’s total import-export value in the first half of November (Nov 1-15) reached $38.35 billion. However, cumulatively up to November 15, the country’s total import-export turnover reached $801.02 billion, an increase of 17.2% (equivalent to an increase of $119.54 billion) compared to the same period in 2024.
B. GENERAL ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
1. Planning Law Project (Amended): Overcoming Fragmentation in Planning On the morning of November 28, continuing the 10th Session of the 15th National Assembly, the National Assembly discussed in the hall the Planning Law project (amended) and the adjustment of the National Master Plan for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050. Discussing the Planning Law project (amended), opinions expressed high agreement with the necessity of amending the Planning Law, contributing to removing contradictions, overlaps, and fragmentation in the current planning system ; creating a legal foundation for efficient resource allocation, exploiting potential, and ensuring sustainable development.
2. Building a Competitive Electricity Market: Separating Distribution – Retail, Abolishing Monopoly In the spirit of Resolution No. 70/NQ-TW of the Politburo, the Prime Minister’s Draft Decision on the roadmap for developing a competitive electricity market will focus on resolving “bottlenecks” in industry structure, separating distribution and retail functions to eliminate monopoly, moving towards applying transparent market prices and attracting socialized investment. On November 27, 2025, at the Ministry of Industry and Trade headquarters, Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Long chaired the Drafting Team meeting (3rd time) to build the draft Decision.
3. Da Nang Creates “Super Port” Lien Chieu and Ambition to Build International Logistics Center Lien Chieu Port and the coastal road connecting the port are entering the sprint phase with 95% of construction progress completed, creating momentum for Da Nang to form strategic logistics infrastructure . In the context of Da Nang city aiming to strongly develop the marine economy and logistics services, the progress of Lien Chieu Port, one of the city’s most important infrastructure projects, is entering a key moment.
4. Nikkei Asia: Huggies Diaper Manufacturer Chooses Vietnam as Manufacturing “Factory” “Vietnam plays an extremely pivotal role, not only as a production site but also as an innovation hub,” said Mr. Nitish Gupta, Managing Director for Southeast Asia, to Nikkei Asia . Nikkei Asia reported that Kimberly-Clark Group is implementing a strategy to turn Vietnam into an operating hub for the entire Southeast Asia region. This year, the US consumer goods giant acquired an additional 1.2 hectares of land right next to its existing factory, located about an hour’s drive from the center of Ho Chi Minh City.
5. Inauguration of Dedicated Freight Transport Road at Vietnam-China Smart Border Gate On the evening of November 27, at Km0, area of marker 1119-1120, the People’s Committee of Lang Son province and the People’s Government of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region organized the Inauguration Ceremony of the dedicated road for transporting goods at the Huu Nghi (Vietnam) – Youyi Guan (China) smart border gate. The project to expand the dedicated freight transport road at the area of marker 1119-1120 of the Huu Nghi International Border Gate belongs to the Pilot Project on building a smart border gate with a total investment of over 174.7 billion VND.
C. ENERGY
1. Global EV Sales Expected to Reach 20 Million Units in 2025 The World Energy Outlook 2025 report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) has just released the latest data on the global transportation picture. According to the IEA’s World Energy Outlook 2025, the shift from internal combustion engines to new energy vehicles is happening faster than forecast in many markets, from developed countries like Norway to emerging economies like Vietnam. According to IEA data, in 2024, global electric vehicle sales increased by about 25% year-on-year, reaching over 17 million vehicles.
2. US Communities Determined to Protect Solar and Wind Energy Amid Federal Support Cuts After nearly a year into President Donald Trump’s second term, the US is witnessing a drastic change in renewable energy support policies. Many communities across states are struggling to keep solar and wind projects alive, amidst cuts or cancellations of federal support programs. The termination of the Solar for All program – one of the key initiatives helping low- and middle-income households access clean energy – has caused far-reaching impacts, pushing many households and small businesses into difficulty.
3. Two Japanese and Russian Groups Want to Invest in New Energy Projects in Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh received leaders of two global energy and mineral mining groups, Mitsui Group (Japan) and Zarubezhneft (Russian Federation). Mr. Hori Kenichi, President and CEO of Mitsui Group (Japan), said that Mitsui was established in 1947 and is one of Japan’s leading groups with a global scale in mineral resource mining, energy, equipment, chemicals, food, textiles, finance…. The Group has invested in Vietnam since 1991.
4. ASEAN Rushes to Promote Common Power Grid Before Demand Boom According to Yew-Poh Mak, EY Asia-Pacific Regional Managing Partner, and Philip Rao, EY ASEAN Energy Leader, a common grid is the green solution for ASEAN. Southeast Asia is entering a period of unprecedented energy growth. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the region’s electricity demand grew at double the global average rate in 2024 and is forecast to double by 2050.
5. Rooftop Solar Support Policy: Boost and Challenges in Implementation In the context where energy security and sustainable development become top priorities, exploiting renewable energy sources is receiving deep attention from the Government and society. Recently, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has a Draft Regulation on support policies for households installing rooftop solar power for self-production, self-consumption, and electricity storage systems, carrying the expectation of creating a new wave in socializing electricity production.
6. Rooftop Solar: One-Time Investment, Long-Term Benefits and Environmental Protection In the context where domestic electricity prices constantly tend to be adjusted upwards, the risk of power shortages in the hot season is increasingly present, along with pressure to reduce emissions under the Net Zero 2050 commitment, developing renewable energy, especially rooftop solar, is becoming an inevitable trend. Recently, the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s 3rd draft on supporting households to install rooftop solar power has received much attention by offering support mechanisms in both cash and preferential loans.
D. EXPORT – IMPORT
1. Vietnamese Lobster Before Challenges from Floods and New Export Regulations Although lobster exports continue to set records and become the brightest spot of the seafood industry in 2025, farmers in many localities still face a series of difficulties regarding prices, supply after floods, and new standards from China. The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said the mass lobster death phenomenon in the former Phu Yen province (now Dak Lak province) caused supply to “decline significantly”.
2. Recommendation to Strictly Follow Regulations When Transacting Cross-Border Sales Contracts The Lang Son Border Gate Management Center recommends and requests individuals and businesses to sign goods purchase and sale contracts and import-export transactions in accordance with Vietnamese law. On November 28, information from the Border Gate Management Center (Dong Dang – Lang Son Border Gate Economic Zone Management Board) said that recently, import-export activities of goods at border gate areas in Lang Son province basically took place smoothly.
3. $8 Billion in Fruits and Vegetables, How to Overcome Limits of Small-Scale Production? Fruits and vegetables are the fastest-growing group in agriculture, with turnover potentially hitting the $8 billion mark this year. However, record export figures for durian, dragon fruit, or passion fruit… are stories of small-scale production, lack of planting area codes, unmet green standards, and increasingly tense watering issues. According to a report on the potential and status of fruit and vegetable production by the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association (Vinafruit), the country has a fruit tree area of over 1.3 million hectares, up 63% compared to 2014.
4. Connecting Supply and Demand to Boost Exports for Northeast Provinces On November 28, in Phu Tho province, the Department of Industry and Trade coordinated with the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency, Ministry of Industry and Trade to organize a Conference connecting trade between suppliers in the Northeast region with export enterprises and a number of Vietnam Trade Offices abroad. Attending the Conference were leaders of the Phu Tho Provincial People’s Committee, Director of the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency, Ministry of Industry and Trade.
E. DOMESTIC MARKET MANAGEMENT & DEVELOPMENT
1. Black Friday: Is “Huge Sale” Really Huge? Approaching Black Friday, many shopping centers in Ho Chi Minh City were much busier than usual. A series of stores hung signs with deep discounts of up to 70%. At a shopping center in central Ho Chi Minh City, fashion, cosmetics, and accessories stores were covered with “huge sale” signs. Many international and domestic brands announced discounts of up to 50%-70%, attracting crowds to view goods.
2. ‘Easing Heat’ for Vegetable and Tuber Market Persistent rains and floods in many provinces and cities in recent days have disrupted the supply of vegetables and tubers, hindered harvesting and transportation processes, and heavily damaged crops. Prices of these products have therefore also increased sharply in the last 2 months. To ‘keep prices stable’ for essential items like vegetables and tubers, supermarkets and agricultural product stores are striving to implement stabilization packages to accompany consumers.
F. E-COMMERCE
1. Developing E-commerce: Efforts to Protect Consumer Rights In recent years, the protection of consumer rights on e-commerce platforms has been emphasized, demonstrated through the completion of a new legal framework, requiring information transparency and increasing the responsibility of e-commerce platforms in managing sellers, handling complaints, and ensuring data safety. Mr. Vo Van Khanh, Representative of the Vietnam E-commerce Association in the Central – Central Highlands region, said that e-commerce platforms have now applied technology to censor products, detect counterfeit goods, verify sellers, and build more flexible refund and return processes.
G. TRADE REMEDIES
1. Ministry of Industry and Trade Issues Urgent Recommendation to Businesses Exporting Upholstered Chairs to Canada Canada initiates administrative review of anti-dumping (AD) and countervailing (CVD) duties on upholstered chairs imported from Vietnam; businesses need to coordinate in providing information to avoid high tax rates. According to the Vietnam Trade Office in Canada, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has just announced the initiation of an administrative review of AD and CVD duties on upholstered domestic seating (UDS) originating in or exported from China and Vietnam.
2. EU Does Not Apply Safeguard Measures to Vietnamese Manganese and Silicon Alloys The EU excludes Vietnam from safeguard measures on manganese and silicon alloys due to negligible import volume . The Trade Remedies Authority (Ministry of Industry and Trade) said that according to information from the Vietnamese Mission in Geneva, on November 25, 2025, the European Commission (EC) sent a notification to the Secretariat of the World Trade Organization (WTO) regarding the application of safeguard measures on a number of manganese and silicon alloy products.
3. Tightening Multi-Level Marketing Management: Barrier or Foundation for Business Compliance? Multi-level marketing activities in Vietnam are being tightly managed, raising the question of whether this is a barrier or a foundation helping compliant businesses develop sustainably. Multi-level marketing (MLM) started appearing in Vietnam in the early 2000s and quickly became a business method attracting great social interest. For the first time, the concept of MLM was recorded in the Competition Law 2004 with regulations on “illicit multi-level selling” acts.
4. Record Increase in Lawsuits, Need for Support “Ecosystem” so Businesses Are Not Alone Facing the pressure of a record increase in trade remedy lawsuits, the Trade Remedies Authority, Ministry of Industry and Trade has reported to the Government a special mechanism: using revenue from defense taxes to support businesses back through associations. This solution aims to increase “resistance” and complete the ecosystem for protecting export goods.
H. GREEN GROWTH
1. Green Economy Forum GEF 2025: Pioneering Innovation, Creating the Future Director of the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency Vu Ba Phu called for strengthening EU-Vietnam cooperation in digital transformation, developing green skills, and attracting investment to accelerate sustainable growth. On November 27, in Hanoi, the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham) and the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency, Ministry of Industry and Trade coordinated to organize the Green Economy Forum (GEF) 2025 with the theme “Pioneering Innovation, Creating the Future”.
2. Vietnamese Businesses Focus on Sustainable Development Nearly 60% of Vietnamese businesses have applied AI technology in their sustainability journey. Of which, 41% apply AI to optimize processes and use resources. Schneider Electric has just announced the results of the Sustainability Report (Green IMPACT Gap) 2025, surveying 4,500 business leaders in 9 East Asian markets. The results show that Vietnamese businesses are strengthening their commitment to sustainable development, considering it a driver for innovation, enhancing competitiveness, and maintaining long-term growth
