COVID-19 pandemic poses challenges to economic growth

According to the forecast of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the world economy will experience a negative growth of 3%, the U.S. -6.1%, and the Eurozone -7.5%. Meanwhile, ASEAN economies will also experience negative growth ranging from -1.7% to -6.7%. Only Indonesia and Vietnam have experienced a positive growth rate of 0.5% and 2.7% respectively.

Reporting to the National Assembly, Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc asserted that COVID-19 has severely affected the economy in almost all sectors. In the first quarter, the agriculture sector grew by only 0.08% due to export difficulties. Industrial production grew by 1.8%, which is much lower compared to the same period last year. It also faced a shortage of input materials and difficulties in finding output markets.

The aggregate demand of the whole economy decreased significantly and the total retail amount of consumer goods and services in the first four months reduced by 4.3%. In addition, five million people have lost their jobs.