HANOI - The value of
Vietnam's exports jumped 27.7% on year in the first
eight months of this year, with the country posting an
export value of US$16.8 billion, according to the Trade
Ministry.
The export value in August was
estimated at $2.3 billion (VND36 trillion), or a 0.3%
rise compared with last month.
Experts said that
in the first eight months of this year, exports of all
main staples markedly increased in both volume and value
compared with the same period last year.
Exports
of crude oil increased by 14.3% in volume and 38% in
value. In addition, garment and textile exports rose by
14.9%; footwear, 20.4%; wood products, 85.5%; and
electronic products, 73.6%.
Other export goods
such as bicycles and bicycle parts, transmission line
and cable and plastics also experienced high growth
rates.
The import value in the first eight
months of the year grew 19.9% over the same period last
year, though the import turnover in August was estimated
at $2.58 billion, a 2.5% decrease compared with July.
The trade deficit in the first eight months of
this year was estimated at $2.89 billion, lower than the
figure of $3.1 billion in the same period last year.
Ho Chi Minh City grossed an export value of
$6.18 billion in the past eight months of this year,
including $850.6 million in August, or a 27.6% rise over
the same period last year.
Of this figure, the
state-owned economic sector contributed $4.6 billion, up
30.4%; the collective sector, $1.3 million, up 22.1%;
the private sector, $239.3 million, up 6.7%; and the
foreign-invested sector, $1.3 billion, up 22.9%.
The municipal statistics department reported
that exports of seafood, one of the city's major hard
currency earners, were valued at $113.7 million and that
of coffee reached $46.9 million, an increase of 22.6% in
the period.
Ho Chi Minh City exported 717,000
tonnes of rice in those eight months, worth
approximately $170 million, a 5.4% fall in volume but a
31.2% surge in value.
During this period, the
city's imports were estimated at $3.59 billion, a rise
of 16.7% over the corresponding period last year.
(Asia Pulse/VNA)
Aug 27, 2004
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