Difficult production, risky container rental... According to the reflection of cashew nut processing and exporting enterprises, in the face of the complicated situation of the Covid-19 epidemic, especially localities are tightening social distancing according to Directive 16 of the Government, causing them to face difficulties. with a series of difficulties in the organization of production, circulation of goods... Many businesses only operate in moderation or even stop operating. Vietnam's economic sector is in the midst of Covid-19 pandemic 1 business unit ?? business sanitization Cao Phat Co., Ltd. maintains production during the Covid-19 pandemic wave. Photo: CTV. According to Cao Phat Company Limited (Chau Duc District, Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province), one of the Top 5 cashew nut production companies in the country, the cashew nut production industry is one of the specific industries, most businesses All large enterprises sign contracts with partners in the form of pillowcases, Cao Phat Company is no exception. Currently, the Company is racing against time to complete the contract signed in 2020 to be implemented in 2021. Mr. Cao Thuc Uy - Director of Cao Phat Company shared that the difficulty the Company in particular and the cashew industry in general is facing is to ensure production activities in the context of having to strictly implement "3 on the spot" according to the regulations. This is an unprecedented activity that causes businesses to face many difficulties in arranging accommodation and meals for hundreds of employees because the majority of cashew industry workers are women. must bear a large fee from the living expenses of workers to testing fees, causing production costs to double, but labor productivity remains unchanged, even a shortage. “Cashew industry enterprises are mostly located in rural areas, so they mainly use local workers, from which workers do not have the habit of staying away from home like workers concentrated in industrial zones. In addition, workers in the cashew industry are mainly female, so living, family and cultural conditions in rural areas cannot stay for too long. Previously, the Company had 650 regular employees, now only 300 employees agree to stay, so the operating capacity of the Company is less than 50%, leading to delay in delivery for contracts. signed. However, due to the prestige, the partners shared difficulties with the Company's situation and agreed to extend the delivery time. The company is currently "stretching" to operate ...", Mr. Cao Thuc Uy shared. Vietnam's economic sector is in the midst of Covid-19 pandemic 1 business unit ?? business sanitization The arrangement of "3 on the spot" of cashew enterprises. Photo: CTV. Similarly, according to My Le Co., Ltd. in Binh Phuoc, the Company's field of activity is processing cashew nuts for export, in addition to difficulties in meeting production activities according to "3 places", the Company's partners mainly customers from Europe and America, the traffic problem is also a concern because the company is located quite far from Cat Lai port, in order to bring goods from the company to the port, it has to go through many localities At that time, there were still difficulties in some places, on the other hand, the shortage of empty containers and high freight rates also had a significant impact on the Company's production activities. A representative of My Le Co., Ltd. shared, currently, the container rental fee from Vietnam (for both dry and refrigerated containers) has increased dramatically. In some ports, the price of the following month has doubled compared to the previous month and is nearly 6 times higher than the price of the beginning of 2020. On the other hand, the free storage time at the seaport yards is also shortened from 15 days. down to 7 days also causes many businesses to pay additional storage costs. Vietnam's economic sector is in the midst of Covid-19 pandemic 1 business unit ?? business sanitization Production activities at My Le Co., Ltd. Photo: CTV. "However, even if the enterprise has registered to ship the container to the port to board the export ship, but because of the shortage of containers, the shipping lines are constantly delayed, delayed, many ships delayed 4 - 5 times (equivalent to about 10 - 15 days) In addition, due to lack of containers, there is a situation of competing for containers causing goods to be lost. Goods still can't be exported, businesses not only have to compensate for contracts, preserving goods to maintain quality also causes many businesses a headache," a representative of My Le Co., Ltd. analyzed. Not only large enterprises, difficulties are also "encircling" small and medium-sized cashew nut processing enterprises. Ha Hung Phu Import-Export Co., Ltd (Tan Phu district, Dong Nai province) said that every day the company processes about 3 tons of raw cashew nuts, creating jobs for nearly 30 local workers. Since the appearance and outbreak of the Covid-19 epidemic, the Company has been severely affected. “Compared to the time before the epidemic, the selling price of products is now reduced; The output of processed cashew nuts of enterprises also decreased by 30%. The unit is trying to overcome all difficulties, narrowing production, focusing only on making products with stable output and paying more attention to the domestic market," said Cao Van Trieu, director of the company. shall. Vietnam's economic sector is in the midst of Covid-19 pandemic 1 business unit ?? business sanitization Mr. Nguyen Van Thang - Director of Bao Ngan Cashew Processing Company said that the production situation of the Company faced many difficulties. Photo: Tran Trung. Similarly, Bao Ngan Cashew Processing Company (Bu Dop District, Binh Phuoc Province) is also facing many difficulties. To ensure production at the beginning of the year, the Company imported nearly 100 tons of raw cashew nuts, but only produced less than 50%. “If not adversely affected by the Covid-19 epidemic, the Company would have had to import more raw materials for production by this time. The backlog caused the Company to face difficulties in capital. On the other hand, since the fourth outbreak of the Covid-19 epidemic until now, the Chinese market has been "frozen." Even making products must also be stored and sold in the domestic market in a "trickle" manner. ". If this situation continues, the Company may be forced to suspend operations to ensure the safety of employees as well as to comply with the policy of the local government," shared Mr. Nguyen Van Thang - Director of the Company. Need c whopping policy "untie" enterprise According to businesses, in addition to the efforts of businesses, in order to untie the cashew industry in general and cashew manufacturing and processing enterprises for export in particular, the Government needs to issue policies to "untie". for Business. Vietnam's economic sector is in the midst of Covid-19 pandemic 1 business unit ?? business sanitization Cashew industry workers are mainly female. Photo: CTV. Cao Thuc Uy - Director of Cao Phat Company said that businesses are highly consistent with the "3 on the spot" model (3T - eat on the spot, sleep on the spot, produce on the spot) but need to expand more models. new model in the direction of diversity and abundance, thereby allowing businesses to have a choice that suits their conditions, rather than being forced to follow a rigid and stereotyped model. “Employees have tried to support businesses so as not to disrupt the supply chain, but it can only last for a certain period of time, but it cannot last forever because they have families, wives and children and many other problems of their lives. living. Therefore, the Company proposes to the local authorities and the Government to have other solutions to allow employees to go home, the Company will commit to the locality on compliance with epidemic prevention measures. In addition, the company also proposed to the authorities to allow relaxation of testing time and allow businesses to buy vaccines to inject workers. Because now, every 3 days, the Company has to do Covid-19 test for all employees at a cost of 230,000 VND/employee. Thus, on average, for one test, the company has to spend more than 57 million VND, more than 170 million VND per week, while each vaccine is currently only about 1 million VND. If this proposal is not approved, the company will have to close its doors so that everyone can return to their families for a while and then calculate it later, "said Mr. Uy. Vietnam's economic sector is in the midst of Covid-19 pandemic 1 business unit ?? business sanitization The control of vehicles in and out of the company at a cashew business. Photo: CTV. My Le Co., Ltd also commented that during the time of the Covid-19 epidemic, the Company still tried to maintain production and business activities, and performed well in epidemic prevention and control. Although it has passed 2 times of separation according to Directive 16, the possibility of the epidemic may still be prolonged and complicated. My Le Company proposed that local authorities need to synchronize epidemic prevention in cashew nut production and processing establishments, if not, they must be handled according to the Government's regulations. Because if the epidemic is allowed to spread in businesses that do not ensure epidemic prevention, it will affect all businesses in the field of cashew production and processing. The government needs to consider supporting businesses that are maintaining production activities during the quarantine period, because during this time, maintaining jobs for workers is very difficult, the costs increase a lot. In addition, it is necessary to freeze debt or partially exempt from tax and social insurance. Quick support on vaccine sources for factories that are implementing production and implementing the "3 on-the-spot" option. Vietnam's economic sector is in the midst of Covid-19 pandemic 1 business unit ?? business sanitization Inside a processing and export processing factory is temporarily closed. Photo. CTV. “In the long run, because most of the cashew processing companies are small and medium enterprises, there is a lack of factory conditions, and the preservation of raw materials and products incurs great costs. Equipment and production technology of companies are old, outdated, degraded, new technology is expensive and difficult to access. Therefore, in the future, it is necessary to have supportive policies and synchronous mechanisms from the central to local levels to facilitate production and development for the cashew industry," a representative of My Le Co., Ltd. shared.