Mekong Delta economic contribution reported shrinking
(VOVWORLD) - The economic role of the Mekong Delta has gradually downsized compared with other regions, with its contribution to Vietnam’s GDP plummeting in the past three decades, according to a report released on Monday.
 The Mekong Delta Annual Economic Report is Vietnam's first-ever conducted on an economic hub. (Photo: tienphong.vn) |
The Mekong Delta Annual Economic Report 2020, coordinated by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and verified by Fulbright School of Public Policy and Management, identified migration as a regional problem as 1.1 million residents have left the Mekong Delta in the past decade, more than the population of a single province and equivalent to the natural population increase of the whole region. This means the Mekong Delta’s population remains unchanged in ten years, the report said, adding that the region has been hit hard by diseases, prolonged drought, and adverse saline intrusion, causing socio-economic instabilities.
In addition, seafood processing, the key industrial sector in the Mekong Delta, hasn’t grown much while other factors have hindered regional industrial development.