Exports draw closer to annual goal
Vietnam raked in US$109.63 billion from exports in the first nine months of the year, moving closer to its 2014 goal of US$148 billion.
The nine-month figure was 14.2% higher than for the same period last year. A total of US$73 billion was contributed by foreign investors, up 14.1%.
Earnings from apparel and mobile phones are expected to top US$20 billion by the end of the year, reported the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
Month-on-month, export revenue fell by 6.6% to US$12.4 billion in September.
However, seafood, pepper, cashew nuts and coffee exports soared by 25% while vegetables expanded by 42.7%, said the deputy director of the Agency for Foreign Trade, Phan Thi Dieu Ha.
During the nine-month period, African nations became the fastest-growing importers of Vietnamese goods. Egypt and Algeria recorded a plus-50% expansion.
African nations bought computers, electronic products and accessories, garments, mobile phones, buses and spare parts, machinery, footwear, construction materials, seafood, coffee and pepper.
Latin America and the Caribbean region were also among Vietnam's major markets, buying US$25.22 billion worth of goods in the first nine months, an increase of 25% for the period.
Chilean importers spent a total of US$354 million on Vietnamese products - a record 132.9% growth that has been credited to the bilateral free-trade agreement signed in January 2014.
In July, Vietnam shipped US$250 million worth of goods to Chile while spending US$203 million on imports. The figures have ended Vietnam's long history of running a trade deficit with Chile.