As of August 15, 1,409.1 thousand hectares of winter rice had been cultivated, equaling 98% of the same period last year. At the same time, 999.4 thousand hectares of summer-autumn rice had been harvested, accounting for 51.1% of the total cultivated area.
Buffalo and cow husbandry was generally stable. The outbreak of dermatitis has gradually been controlled, but the risk of recurrence is still high. It is estimated that by the end of August, 2021, the total number of buffaloes decreased by 3.8% compared to the same period in 2020; while the figure for cows increased by 1.8%. The total number of pigs increased by 4.5% and that of poultry increased by 4.2%.
The area of newly planted forests in August 2021 was estimated at 19.9 thousand hectares, up 1.9% over the same period last year. In the first eight months of 2021, the newly planted forest area was estimated at 143.4 thousand hectares, up 3.0% over the same period last year. The number of planted forest trees reached 56.2 million, up 1.7%. Timber production reached 11,085.2 thousand m3, up 5.1% while firewood production reached 12.9 million steres, down 0.5%.
In August 2021, the area of damaged forest area was 400.7 ha, an increase of 97% over the same period last year. It is estimated that in the first eight months of 2021, 1,726.8 hectares of forest was damaged, an increase of 45% over the same period last year. Specifically, the burned forest area was 963 hectares, an increase of 66.8% while the deforested area was 763.8 ha, an increase of 24.6%.
Fishery production in August was estimated at 801.4 thousand tons, down 2.6% over the same period last year. Generally, for the first eight months of 2021, production of seafood was estimated at 5,692.5 thousand tons, up 1.4% over the same period last year. In particular, aquaculture production reached 2,987.7 thousand tons, up 1.8%.
The index of industrial production (IIP) in August 2021 was estimated to decrease by 4.2% over the previous month and by 7.4% over the same period last year. In particular, IPP of the mining industry decreased by 2.4%; processing and manufacturing decreased by 9.2%; electricity production and distribution increased by 1.5%; water supply, management and treatment of waste and wastewater increased by 0.2%.
For the first eight months of 2021, IIP was estimated to increase by 5.6% over the same period last year. The processing and manufacturing industry increased by 7%, contributing 5.9 percentage points to the overall increase; electricity production and distribution increased by 6.6%, contributing 0.6 percentage points; water supply, waste and wastewater management and treatment activities increased by 4.4%, contributing 0.1 percentage points; while the mining industry decreased by 6.2%, contributing minus 1 percentage point.
In August 2021, there were 5,761 newly established enterprises with a total registered capital of 68 trillion VND, a decrease of 34.1% and 44.6%, respectively, over the previous month. The number of registered employees was 43.4 thousand people, a decrease of 39.1% compared to July 2021. The average registered capital of a newly established enterprise was 11.8 billion VND, down 16% over the previous month. There were 3,865 enterprises returning to operation, down 21.9% from the previous month and 19.1% over the same period last year. The number of enterprises withdrawing from the market was 6,441 enterprises, down 34.9% from the previous month.
Generally, in the first eight months of 2021, there were 81.6 thousand newly registered enterprises with a total registered capital of nearly 1,133.4 trillion VND and a total registered number of employees of 598.9 thousand, down 8% in the number of enterprises, 7.5% in the registered capital and 13.8% in the number of employees over the same period last year. The average registered capital of a newly established enterprises in 8 months reached 13.9 billion VND, up 0.5% over the same period last year.
In the same period, there were 85.5 thousand enterprises suspending business for a definite time, waiting for dissolution procedures and completing dissolution procedures, an increase of 24.2% over the same period in 2020. On average, nearly 10.7 thousand businesses withdraw from the market every month.
In order to control the epidemic, many cities and provinces have applied social distancing measures, which has affected the implementation of public investment projects.
Realized investment capital from the State budget in August 2021 was estimated at 34.9 trillion VND, down 24.7% over the same period last year. In the first eight months of 2021, realized investment capital from the State budget reached 244.9 trillion VND, equaling 51.1% of the year plan and down 0.4% over the same period last.
As of August 20, 2021, the total registered foreign investment capital, including newly registered capital, adjusted registered capital and capital contribution and share purchase by foreign investors reached 19.12 billion USD, down 2.1% over the same period last year. Realized foreign direct investment capital in Vietnam in the first eight months of 2021 was estimated at 11.58 billion USD, up 2% over the same period last year.
Total retail sales of consumer goods and services in August was estimated at 279.8 trillion VND, down 10.5% from the previous month and 33.7% over the same period last year. In the first eight months of 2021, the total retail sales of consumer goods and services reached 3,044.5 trillion VND, down 4.7% over the same period last year.
In the first eight months of 2021, the export turnover of goods was estimated at 212.55 billion USD, up 21.2% over the same period last year. At the same time, there are 30 items with export turnover of over 1 billion USD, accounting for 91.8% of total export turnover.
Regarding the export, export turnover of fuels and minerals was estimated at 2.29 billion USD, up 3.6% over the same period last year while that of processed industrial products was estimated at 189.28 billion USD, up 22.5%. The export value of agricultural and forestry products reached 15.4 billion USD, up 14.9%, and the figure for seafood products reached 5.58 billion USD, up 7.1%.
The US maintains its position as Vietnam largest export market with a turnover of 62.2 billion USD, up 32.5% over the same period last year, followed by China with 32.7 billion USD, up 19.8%; EU market with 26.1 billion USD, up 14.5%; the ASEAN market with 18.4 billion USD, up 23.3%; Korea with 13.9 billion USD, up 9.9%; and Japan with 13.5 billion USD, up 8.6%.
It is estimated that in August 2021, the import turnover of goods reached 27.5 billion USD, down 5.5% over the previous month and up 21.2% over the same period last year. Generally, for the first eight months of 2021, the import turnover of goods was estimated at 216.26 billion USD, up 33.8% over the same period last.
Import value of materials for production is estimated at 204.16 billion USD, up 34.4% over the same period last year. In particular, import value of machinery, equipment and household goods tools and spare parts reached 96.6 billion USD, up 27.2%; that of raw materials, fuel and materials reached 107.56 billion USD, up 41.6%, while the figure for consumer goods was estimated at 12.1 billion USD, up 24%.
China is Vietnam's largest import market with a turnover of 72.5 billion USD, up 47.1% over the same period last year. Following are Korea market with import turnover of 34.6 billion USD, up 20.5%; the ASEAN market with 28.2 billion USD, up 47.4%; Japan with 14.5 billion USD, up 13.7%; the EU market with 11 billion USD, up 17.1%; and the United States with 10.4 billion USD, up 12.3%.
In August, Vietnam continued to see a trade deficit of 1.3 billion USD. In the first eight months of the, the trade balance of goods experienced a trade deficit of 3.71 billion USD.
6. Consumer price index and inflation
The increase in food prices was the main reason for an increase of 2.82% compared to August 2020 in consumer price index (CPI). However, for the first 8 months of 2021, CPI increased by only 1.79% over the same period last year, the lowest increase since 2016.
Core inflation in August 2021 decreased by 0.02% compared to the previous month, increased by 0.98% over the same period last year. Average core inflation in the first eight months of this year increased by 0.9% over the same period in 2020.
Source: GSO
