The General Statistics Office (GSO) said the trade deficit of Vietnam was estimated at US$1.9 billion in October 2009, bringing the total value of the trade gap to US$8.78 billion in the January- October period.
In the last four months, the trade deficit was US$6.4 billion, escalating worries that the trade gap may be larger than the forecast by specialists and may cause pressure on the macro economy.
The October export revenue was forecast at US$4.75 billion while import spending amounted to US$6.65 billion, making the month of October the largest monthly trade deficit in the year. According to statistics, the trade gap has been on the rise in recent months: US$1.325 billion in August, US$1.832 billion in September and US$1.9 billion in October.
The surge in imports amid slight rises and falls in export is attributed to the widening trade deficit.
In regards to exports, Vietnam earned US$4.75 billion, compared with US$4.806 billion in July, US$4.523 billion in August and US$4.544 billion in September.
As of this year, export revenues totalled around US$46.336 billion, representing a year on year fall of 13.8 %. However, the decline gap narrowed in recent months, giving a year on year rise of 14.2-14.3 % in August and September.
Among 24 key exports stated in the October report, only six commodities gained in value while the rest declined.
Values of many exports plunged sharply, such as crude oil (down 43 %), rubber (down 41.2 %), ceramic wares (down 26 %), and electric cables and wires (down 24.8 %). However, exported volumes surged from a year earlier. For instance, pepper shipments soared 49 %; rice, 32.8 %; and tea, 23 %.
Given 10-month performances, Vietnam will hardly complete the task of raising export revenues in 2009 by 3 % set by the National Assembly. No matter how hard the Vietnam economy will rally in the last two months, the average monthly export earnings of US$8.5 billion are visibly out of reach.
Thus, the import turnover of Vietnam totalled US$55.119 billion in the first 10 months of 2009, down 21.7 % from the corresponding period of 2008.
Like the export earnings development, the import spending is narrowing the decline gap relative to the amount in the corresponding periods of 2008. Specifically, import turnover decreased 28.2 % year on year in August while the drop was 25.2 % in September and 21.7 % in October.
Among 27 key imports presented in the October report, only wheat and medicine rose 8.8 % and 26.8 % in value, respectively. Meanwhile, the remaining 25 imports retreated. Animal feed and materials dropped 87.2 % in value, petroleum products dropped 47.9 % in value and steel dropped 30.7 % in value (in which steel ingot decreased by 43.6 %). (VNE)
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