Vietnam earns massive export turnover in five months

May 27, 2011 | 08:59

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Vietnam’s export turnover in the first five months of this year reached more than $34.7 billion, representing a year-on-year rise of 32.8 per cent, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said on May 26.

illustration photo

During this period, garment exports topped the list of hard currency earners with over $5.1 billion, a rise of 35.6 per cent year-on-year. The United States remained Vietnam’s largest importer, followed by the European Union and Japan.

Except for crude oil, footwear exports ranked second in the list with $2.37 billion in revenues, enjoying a year-on-year rise of 31.8 per cent. Footwear was followed by aquatic products with revenues of $2.1 billion, up 31 per cent.

Export revenues of rubber and coffee were over $1 billion and $1.77 billion, respectively, more than double the same period last year.

According to Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Thanh Bien, higher priced commodities, thanks to the recovery of the global economy, were the main reason for Vietnam’s export growth, especially to European markets.

In contrast to the optimistic signal of exports, imports rose strongly. Until the end of May, the whole country imported $41.3 billion, up 29.5 per cent from the same period of last year, pushing the trade deficit to $6.5 billion and accounting for 18.8 per cent of the gross export value.

Bien also asked export businesses to establish new markets, engage in trade promotion activities, make the most of free trade agreements, and especially to prioritise the use of domestic fuel, raw materials and equipment to gradually reduce trade deficit.

VIR/VNA

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