Vietnam's southern economic hub of Ho Chi Minh City is estimated to have fetched US$5.11 billion from exports in the first quarter of this year, up 26.8 per cent on-year, accounting for 39.3 per cent of the country's total export value, Vietnam & World Economy reported March 24.
Of the sum, state-owned sector contributes US$2.99 billion, up 37.5 per cent on-year, foreign-invested sector with US$1.29 billion, up 13.3 per cent and private sector with US$818.2 million, up 15.9 per cent.
Excluding crude oil export value, the city’s export turnover reached US$2.59 billion, up 14.4 per cent on-year.
The city was estimated to have shipped 240,000 tons of rice worth US$86.8 million, down 31.8 per cent on-year in volume.
The export of crude oil also decreases by 11.5 per cent on-year to 3.43 million tons. However, this staple’s exports soar 42.8 per cent thanks to an average price hike of 61.2 per cent.
Meanwhile, seafood, garments and footwear sectors report on-year increases of 8.6 per cent, 14.1 per cent and 6.6 per cent to US$81.9 million, US$373.8 million and US$81.4 million, respectively.
The city is estimated to spend US$4.11 billion on importing commodities, up 16.9 per cent over the same period last year. The figure results in the city's trade deficit of US$1 billion in the first quarter.
According to economic experts, though the city obtains higher on-year export growth rate, local exporters are facing many difficulties due to the greenback's devaluation and high production cost driven by input material price hikes. (Vietnam & World Economy)
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