Vietnam’s trade value was estimated at 29.3 billion USD in January, down 13 percent from the previous month, according to the General Department of Customs.

Of the figure, export turnover touched 14.6 USD, dropping by 12 percent from December 2016, while import value was 14.7 billion USD, falling by 14 percent month-on-month.

Key products saw declines in export revenue included phones and components (down 7.1 percent); garments and textiles (down 10.8 percent); and computers, electronic products and spare parts (down 14.1 percent);

Footwear exports also suffered a fall of 10.2 percent, while earnings from machines and spare parts dropped by 12.9 percent.

The highest declines were seen in the export value of aquatic products, and wood and wooden furniture, with decreases of 16.2 percent and 17.3 percent, respectively.

Rice exports decline in January

Vietnam exported 325,000 tonnes of rice worth 136 million USD in January, down 32 percent in volume and 35.1 percent in value compared to the same month in 2016.

Chairman of the Vietnam Food Association Huynh The Nang said the rice sector will face more difficulties this year.

In 2016, China was the biggest rice importer of Vietnam by purchasing 1.74 million tonnes of rice worth 782.3 million USD, representing a respective yearly decline of 17.5 percent and 8.6 percent.

Other major rice importers in ASEAN such as the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia also witnessed strong reduction of 64.1 percent, 45.5 percent and 51.8 percent, respectively.

VNA