On July 3, Cao Bang Provincial Statistics held a press conference to announce socio-economic statistics for the first 6 months of 2026, and at the same time provide preliminary information on the results of the 2026 Economic Census.
According to the announcement, the province's GRDP in the first half of 2026 is estimated to increase by 7.85% compared to the same period last year.
In the economic structure, the service sector continues to account for the largest proportion with 53.82%, followed by industry - construction accounting for 22.46%, agriculture, forestry and fishery accounting for 19.91%; product tax minus product subsidies accounting for 3.81%.
The agricultural sector maintained positive growth momentum when the total cultivated area of the Winter-Spring crop reached nearly 41,000ha, an increase of 6.18% compared to the main crop in 2025.
Total grain production reached more than 120,700 tons, an increase of 5.89%; many key crops such as tobacco, corn, soybeans and fruit trees all increased in both area and output.
However, the newly planted forest area only reached 1,038ha, down more than 36% compared to the same period.
In the industrial sector, the industrial production index of the whole industry increased by 15.56%. Total investment capital implemented in the area reached more than 5,135 billion VND, an increase of 6.95% compared to the same period.
Trade and service activities continued to recover with total retail sales of goods and consumer service revenue reaching nearly 7,680 billion VND, an increase of 15.13%.
In which, retail sales of goods reached more than 5,890 billion VND, up 16.61%; transportation revenue reached 261.5 billion VND, up 11.18% thanks to increased travel and tourism demand.
The average consumer price index (CPI) in the first 6 months of the year increased by 3.33% compared to the same period last year. 10/11 groups of goods and services recorded price increases, notably the group of food and food services, beverages - tobacco and garments.
Preliminary results of the 2026 Economic Census show that by the end of 2025, the whole province had 20,795 economic units, non-public non-business units and religious and belief establishments, an increase of 1.41% compared to 2021, creating jobs for more than 48,000 workers.
In which, the service sector accounts for nearly 88% of the total number of establishments. The whole province has 1,119 enterprises, an increase of 21.9%; 196 cooperatives, an increase of 8.29% and more than 19,400 individual production and business establishments.
On the same day, the Executive Committee of the Cao Bang Provincial Party Committee, term XX, held the 7th Conference to assess the results of task implementation in the first 6 months of the year and deploy key tasks for the last 6 months of 2026.
At the conference, besides acknowledging the achieved results, delegates also pointed out many shortcomings that need to be overcome.
Notably, the disbursement progress of public investment capital is very slow, only reaching 14.6% of the plan; the project to build 11 inter-level boarding schools in border communes is behind schedule; state budget revenue decreased by 14% compared to the same period.
The GRDP growth rate of 7.85% is also 1.24 percentage points lower than the growth scenario set out from the beginning of the year.
Concluding the conference, Secretary of Cao Bang Provincial Party Committee Phan Thang An said that the biggest bottleneck currently no longer lies in mechanisms and policies but in the quality of organization and implementation.
He requested all levels and sectors to strongly shift from the thinking of "completing the process" to "completing the results", taking practical efficiency and the satisfaction of people and businesses as a measure of leadership and management capacity.
In the last 6 months of the year, provincial leaders requested to focus on completing at the highest level the socio-economic development targets for 2026; accelerate disbursement of public investment capital, clearly define the responsibilities of each agency, investor and related individuals; ensure timely completion of 11 boarding schools in border communes.
