Four-month trade records robust performance

Vietnam’s trade picture in the first four months stayed on track due to good overall performances.

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s Department for Industrial Economics (DIE), in the year’s first four months, the country’s trade picture remained quite bright, with imports and exports of both local and foreign firms rising.

Specifically, the country’s total import turnover reached more than $64 billion, up nearly 25 per cent year-on-year. Of this, the domestic sector’s imports was nearly $25.78 billion, up 24.4 per cent year-on-year, and that of the foreign sector hit nearly $38.3 billion, up 25.3 per cent year-on-year.

Imports of many key items saw significant rises, such as oil-based products (26.2 per cent), chemicals (37.7 per cent), fertiliser (35.1 per cent), equipment and machines (38.8 per cent), and rubber products (21 per cent).

Nguyen Viet Thang, head of manufacturing firm 26 JSC’s Planning Department, told VIR that in the year’s first four months, the firm spent millions of dollars importing machinery and materials from mainland China and Taiwan for production of garments, furniture, and plastics. “Our spending increased about 20 per cent year-on-year.”

“We are boosting production in order to meet delivery deadlines. The firm has landed many contracts from Japan, Thailand, and Eastern Europe,” said Thang.

Also in this year’s first four months, the firm’s total export turnover climbed by double digits, which Thang said is about 15 per cent higher than in the same period last year.

26 JSC is one of many firms in Vietnam that have enjoyed a strong export performance.

According to the DIE, in the year’s first four months, the country’s total export turnover reached more than $61.34 billion, up 15.4 per cent year-on-year.

In which, the export turnover of the local sector was $17.23 billion, up 13.7 per cent year-on-year, and that of the foreign sector totalled over $44 billion (including crude oil exports), up 16.1 per cent year-on-year.

The export turnover of some of the economy’s key items increased compared with the same period last year, such as textiles and garments ($7.47 billion – up 9.1 per cent), footwear ($4.2 billion – up 9.6 per cent), industrial machinery and equipment ($4.1 billion – up 39 per cent), steel (up 31.4 per cent), and electronic products (up 44.3 per cent).

In the first four months, the country witnessed a trade deficit of $2.7 billion, equal to 4.4 per cent of the total export turnover.

Meanwhile, in last year’s corresponding period, Vietnam enjoyed a trade surplus of $1.46 billion, equal to 2.76 per cent of the total export turnover.

By Thanh Dat / VIR