Trade surplus hits US$1.7bil in 8 months
Vietnam has enjoyed a trade surplus of US$1.7 billion for the first eight months of 2014, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO)’s figures.
The figures also showed that the nation incurred a trade deficit, worth US$100 million, only in January, and began earning a surplus in February, at US$244 million.
The surplus reached US$1 billion in the first quarter,US$683 million in the first four months, US$1.6 billion in the first five months, and US$1.3 billion in the first half. After seven months, the surplus increased to US$1.26 billion.
The nation's total exports reached US$97 billion in the first eight months, up 14.1% from last year’s same period while imports hit US$95.3 billion, a year-on-year increase of 12%. The country mainly imported materials and sub-materials for production.
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The US was the country's largest export market in the first eight months, accounting for US$18.5 billion in exports, or 22.5% more than that of the same period last year.
Other significant export markets include the European Union with US$17.9 billion in exports, or a 13.3% rise from that of last year, ASEAN with US$12.4 billion, (0.5%), Japan with US$9.9 billion, (12.7%), and China with US$9.8 billion, (15.2%).
Foreign direct investment (FDI) enterprises exported products worth US$65.2 billion, 15.6% higher than the same period of last year, while domestic enterprises exported products worth US$31.8 billion, up 11.1%against last year.
A number of key exports achieved high growth in the first eight months of the year, including seafood with US$5 billion, (up 23.6%), textiles and garments,US$13.65 billion (up 19.7%), telephone and components, US$15.23 billion (up 13.7%), and crude oil, US$5.59 billion (up 14.3%).
However, a number of agricultural exports suffered a decline, including rice with US$2.46 billion, down 3.7%compared to the same period last year, rubber,US$992 million (down 31.7%), and tea, US$140 million (down 0.6%).
The GSO also reported that the largest import market was China with US$27.6 billion, a year-on-year increase of 17.3%.
Vietnam achieved a US$17.8-billion trade deficit with China in the first eight months, a year-on-year surge of 18.5%.
FDI enterprises imported US$53.4 billion worth of equipment and products, or 12% more than in the same period last year, while domestic enterprises imported US$41.9 billion worth of equipment and products, or 13.4% more than in the same period last year.