The latest trade report from the General Statistics Office (GSO) shows that the trade deficit increased yet again in April, by $800 million, bringing the four-month total to $2.74 billion.

Export turnover in April was estimated at $16.7 billion, down 3.2 per cent month-on-month and up 9.6 per cent year-on-year.

Import turnover, meanwhile, reached $17.5 billion, down 4.6 per cent month-on-month but up 24.9 per cent year-on-year.

Export turnover in the first four months was estimated at $61.3 billion, up 15.4 per cent year-on-year. Exports from the domestic sector stood at $17.3 billion while those of the foreign-invested sector (including crude oil) totaled $44 billion.

Some commodities recorded high growth, such as textiles, electronics, footwear, seafood, timber, vegetables, and crude oil, while agricultural products such as cassava, pepper and rice plummeted.

The US remained Vietnam’s largest export market, with the turnover reaching $11.9 billion, followed by the EU with $11.3 billion, China $8.6 billion, ASEAN countries $6.7 billion, Japan $5.2 billion, and South Korea $4.4 billion.

Import turnover in the first four months totaled $64.1 billion, up 24.9 per cent year-on-year. The domestic sector imported $25.8 billion and the foreign-invested sector $38.3 billion.  

According to the GSO, import turnover for production items increased year-on-year, such as machinery parts, telephones and spare parts, steel, plastics, chemicals, animal feed, metal, and petroleum.

China remained the largest source of imports into Vietnam during the first four months of the year, with turnover of $17.6 billion, up 19.4 per cent year-on-year, followed by South Korea with $13.7 billion, up 45.3 per cent, and ASEAN countries $8.9 billion, up 20.4 per cent.

The trade deficit has headed upwards in the early months of the year, with the four-month figure of $2.74 billion representing 4.5 per cent of exports.

The domestic sector’s trade deficit was $8.49 billion while the foreign-invested sector recorded a surplus of $5.75 billion.

VN Economic Times