Vietnam Runs $100 Million Trade Deficit in January

Vietnam posted an estimated trade gap of $100 million in January.


                  Vietnam ran a trade deficit of $100 million in January. Photo: Internet

Vietnam ran an estimated trade deficit of $100 million in the first month of 2017, compared to a surplus of $765 million in the same period last year, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

The country raked in $14.6 billion from shipping goods abroad last month, down 12% month-on-month due to a long Lunar New Year or Tet holiday, but up 7.6% year-on-year, the government-run office said in a report released on February 2.

The U.S. has remained Vietnam’s largest export market, with shipments totaling $3.3 billion in January, up 9.5% year-on-year. The runners-up were the EU with $2.9 billion, China with $1.9 billion and the ASEAN with $1.4 billion.

Meanwhile, imports reached $14.7 billion in the month, falling 13.9% month-on-month but rising 15.8% year-on-year.

China has stayed firm as the top supplier of goods for Vietnam, with the former exporting $4.3 billion to the latter last month, up 9.3% year-on-year. South Korea came second with $2.5 billion, followed by the ASEAN with $2.1 billion and Japan with $1.3 billion.

Tuan Minh / BizLIVE