Non-state sector becomes main driver of HCM City’s foreign trade in nine months
Non-state sector became the main driver of Ho Chi Minh City’s foreign trade during the first nine months of this year, with its exports and imports increasing 3.5% and 39.7%, respectively, according to the municipal statistics office.
The country’s southern economic hub saw foreign trade growing 9.7% year-on-year from January to September, with exports and imports experiencing opposite trends due to impacts of the worst-ever COVID-19 resurgence, which hit the city since May.
In September, exports totalled US$2.37 billion, a 5.7% decrease month on month. Of the figure, the public sector contributed US$93.4 million, down 4.9% month on month; the non-state sector, US$816.3 million, up 13.7%; and the foreign-invested sector, US$1.25 billion, down 14.9%.
In the first three quarters of the year, the city shipped abroad US$31.5 billion worth of goods and services, a year-on-year drop of 3.4%. Of the total, the state-owned sector contributed US$1.53 billion, down 15.2% year on year; the non-state sector, US$8.43 billion, up 3.5%; and the foreign-invested sector, US$18.6 billion, down 6.5%.
The agriculture sector generated close to US$2.9 billion from exports during the period, up 8.5% year on year and accounting for 10.5% of the total shipments. The industrial sector’s exports, meanwhile, fell 13.9% to US$19.2 billion, representing some 70% of the total.
China remained HCM City’s largest buyer in nine months, importing US$6.65 billion worth of goods and services, down 15.9% year on year. It was followed by the US, Japan and the EU.
The city spent over US$4.1 billion on imports last month, down 8% month on month. The nine-month figure, however, spurred 21.3% year on year to US$44.3 billion, with imports of the non-state sector surging 39.7% to US$19.1 billion and that of the foreign-invested sector rising 12.2% to US$18.8 billion.