Vietnam is estimated to have posted an on-year export growth of 19.4 per cent to reach US$35.2 billion in the first nine months of this year, fulfilling 75.3 per cent of the year’s target, said the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
September’s value alone is calculated at US$4.1 billion, up 22.75 per cent on-year and down 4.6 per cent on-month.
Foreign-invested enterprises contributed US$14 billion in the January-September period, up 32 per cent on-year.
Apparel exports surpassed crude oil for the first time to take lead with over US$5.8 billion, up 31.6 per cent on-year, while the latter reached US$5.78 billion, down 12.8 per cent on-year.
They were followed by footwear (US$2.97 billion, up 13.1 per cent on-year), seafood products (US$2.73 billion, up 13.4 per cent), wooden furniture (US$1.71 billion, up 24.9 per cent), electronic and computer parts (US$1.51 billion, up 23.5 per cent), coffee (US$1.47 billion, up 85.9 per cent), and rice (US$1.26 billion).
Economists said that apparel products were forecast to take lead because of the reduction in crude oil exports due to limited sources for exploitation. They also predicted that apparel exports will see strong growth after the country joined the World Trade Organization and the U.S. quotas were removed.
Rubber earnings reached US$933 million in the period and are forecast to hit US$1 billion by the end of the year.
Vietnam mainly ships its goods to the EU with revenue increased by 28.5 per cent, accounting for 19.2 per cent of the country’s total export value, to the U.S. went up by 25 per cent, or 20.5 per cent of total figure.
Vietnam was estimated to have imported US$42.87 billion worth goods, up 30 per cent on-year. In September alone, the figure hit US$5.1 billion, up 32.46 per cent on-year, down 3.5 per cent on-month.
Vietnam mainly spent on imports of machineries and equipment (US$7.2 billion, up 55 per cent on-year), fuels and steel (US$5.8 billion, up 28.9 per cent).
The country is forecast to face a trade deficit of US$7.7 billion in the nine-month period, up 2.3 times against that last year. The figure is estimated to climb US$10.3 billion by the end of the year.
This year, Vietnam’s exports are forecast to reach US$48.2 billion while imports spending may grow 30 per cent in the fourth quarter to hit US$58.5 billion for the whole year. (VNS, VietNamNet)
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