Vietnam promotes medical supply exports to support international fight against COVID-19

The prime minister urged measures to smooth out the export of medical supplies

This is part of the prime minister’s conclusion speech at a recent government meeting reviewing measures in combating COVID-19.

On recent days, customers from different markets such as the US, EU, Spain, and most recenty Russia and Canada have voiced the rising demand to import medical supplies, such as protective gear, gloves, and face masks to serve the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy, deputy director of the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, has told the media that customers from different markets have continuously asked about the capacity for medical supplies provision from Vietnamese companies.

For instance, the Russian market would need one million sets of single-use protective gear, more than five million medical face masks, one million anti-bacterial masks, two million fabric-made masks, 100,000 protective glasses, one million medical blouses, and more for shipping to Saint-Petersburg.

"Vietnamese businesses need to pay due regard to preparing legitimate papers showing the products are eligible for exportation from Vietnam, plus other necessary documents when anchoring at Saint-Peterburg port," Thuy noted.

In addition, the Canadian market is showing demand for millions of medical supplies, such as single-use N95 face masks, single-use surgical masks, nitrile gloves, vinyl gloves, medical blouses, and protective medical gear, hand sanitiser, and protective eyewear, among others.

Functional Canadian bodies will take the initiative in selecting the export firms and soon contact businesses meeting their demands.

Earlier, the government enacted Resolution No.20/NQ-CP dated February 28, 2020 on licensing the export of medical masks during the COVID-19 epidemic.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Health shall provide licences allowing the export of medical face masks while the country is combating COVID-19 with the purpose of providing aid and international support on behalf of the Vietnamese government.

This policy does not apply to the export business of export-processing enterprises having acquired investment certificates and those engaged in processing medical masks for foreign clients on contracts signed before March 1, 2020.

Right after the enactment of the resolution, the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (Vitas) has reported rising orders for fabric-made face masks.

The General Department of Customs has also improved processes in checking the export of fabric-made face masks to facilitate business activities during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Facilitating the export of fabric masks and other measures aims to support local businesses that are short of export orders as many of them were delayed or cancelled due to the pandemic.

Of the proposed measures to help textile and garment makers weather difficulties in the current context, The Vitas has sought the government's permission to allow those in the sector to engage in production and export of items serving the fight against COVID-19 to partly cover expenses in these difficult circumstances.