Vietnam exported 16.7 billion USD worth of goods in April, raising the total export turnover in four months to 61.3 billion USD, a year-on-year increase of 15.4 percent, according to the General Statistics Office.

The outcome surpassed the yearly target of 6-7 percent set for the industry-trade sector. And, all baskets of export products recorded growth of 12-43.6 percent.

Since the beginning of this year, the export turnover of the domestic economic sector – the main driving force for the nation’s economy – has continuously surged, nearly equal to the growth level of the foreign invested economic sector (16.1 percent).

In January-April, the domestic economic sector recorded 17.3 billion USD in export turnover, up 13.7 percent, an encouraging outcome compared to a slight increase of 3.4 percent in the same period of 2016.

Also in the four-month period, trade deficit from China declined, and the Republic of Korea (RoK) took the lead with 7.3 billion USD.

Vietnam has integrated extensively and intensively into the global economy and signed a number of free trade agreements with countries and territories. 

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai suggested promoting production and increasing competitiveness of businesses and goods to earn higher export value.

He recommended boosting domestic production and creating high-quality and highly-competitive products in an effort to limit the imports of unnecessary products.

At the same time, the campaign “Vietnamese prioritize to using Vietnamese goods” should be expanded and products and export markets be diversified, he stressed.

Apart from assistance from competent agencies, businesses need to develop such staples as farm produce, forestry and aquatic products, garment-textile, and footwear via developing their quality and building brand names.

Experts also noted that the trade deficit currently stands at 4.5 percent, higher than the 3.5 percent target set by the National Assembly. 

They suggested taking into account the exchange rate policies and import structure to create the best conditions for domestic businesses to develop since foreign enterprises are still making up over 70 percent of the total export revenue.

VNA