The domestic textile and garment industry is likely to not reach its goals in production and business due to the strong impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The agriculture sector gained a trade surplus of US$3.3 billion in the first nine months of this year, a miracle in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic that has affected almost every other part of the economy.

Vietnam’s footwear exports plunged 44.2 percent year-on-year to about $700 million in September, according to the Vietnam Leather, Footwear and Handbag Association (Lefaso).

Garment and textile firms face labor shortages and broken supply chains, and find it hard to fulfill their export orders, the Vietnam Textile & Apparel Association has said.

Vietnam could achieve trade balance, or even a trade surplus this year, deputy head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Agency of Foreign Trade said.

The shift in global investment capital flows after the pandemic has been setting new requirements for the development of the industrial parks in the future.

Vietnam’s GDP is expected to expand by about 4.8% in 2021, and the economy could converge toward the pre-pandemic GDP growth rate of 6.5 to 7% from 2022 onward, the World Bank has forecast.

The East Asia and Pacific region's recovery has been undermined by the spread of the Covid-19 Delta variant, which is likely slowing economic growth and increasing inequality in the region, the World Bank said on Monday.

A virtual workplace platform named VCCI-Workplace was launched late last week by the Business Cooperation Council in Response to COVID-19

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on September 26 presided over an online meeting with representatives of the business circle and localities to discuss measures to continue supporting firms in the context of the COVID-19.