Ho Chi Minh City accelerates exports linked with logistics and supply chains

Ho Chi Minh City is intensifying its export efforts centered around logistics and supply chains, concentrating on market growth, cost reduction, and elevating the competitiveness of local products and enterprises. On September 21, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade convened a conference to promote imports, exports, and supply chains within the city, highlighting strategies to broaden markets, minimize logistics expenses, and empower businesses to engage in global supply chains.

Le Van Danh, Deputy Director of the HCMC Department of Industry and Trade, reported that the city's manufacturing, trade, and import-export activities continued their expansion during the first eight months of 2026. The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) surged by 10.8 percent, whereas total retail sales of goods and consumer service revenue surged by 13.7 percent.

Export turnover reached US$65.83 billion, a 7.82 percent increase, while imports totaled US$72.69 billion, a 11.86 percent rise. The processing and manufacturing sectors remained pivotal, driven by sectors such as computers, electronics, and components, amounting to US$14.5 billion. Notably, the largest export market for Ho Chi Minh City is the United States, followed by China and South Korea.

Import volumes have outpaced export volumes, primarily consisting of raw materials and machinery for production, underscoring the necessity to bolster supply chain self-reliance, foster complementary industries, and heighten the localization rate. In the remaining four months of the year, the city's industry and trade sector will prioritize market expansion, leveraging Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), and fostering connections between businesses and international partners.

Simultaneously, it will champion supporting industries, green and digital transformations, and logistics development to bolster the competitiveness of exported goods. Permanent Vice Chairman Nguyen Loc Ha of the municipal People's Committee underscored that harmonizing imports and exports with logistics and global supply chains is a vital task to bolster competitiveness and stimulate growth momentum for the city.

Thus, Ho Chi Minh City is advocating for exports of higher quality and added value, assisting businesses in accessing market intelligence and opportunities, establishing brands, and conforming to international standards. Alongside market expansion, the city must intricately intertwine import and export activities with logistics, leveraging the benefits of seaports, industrial zones, export processing zones, and production-trade hubs, while fortifying links between import-export enterprises and logistics firms to diminish overall chain costs.

After the conference, pertinent agencies must categorize recommendations, discerning matters necessitating immediate action, long-term resolutions, or proposals to the central Government, thereby converting dialogue into tangible actions. The HCMC People's Committee Permanent Vice Chairman stressed that businesses must remain the focal point, with obstacles addressed under the principle of clear agency, clear responsibility, clear timeline, and clear results.

Issues falling within the city's purview should be tackled with urgency, while matters exceeding its jurisdiction should be promptly forwarded to the central Government.