Textile and garment is among export items forecast to experience downturn in the first quarter of this year.

According to Director General of the General Statistics Office of Vietnam (GSO) Nguyen Bich Lam, Vietnam’s exports in the first quarter of 2020 are estimated at 46.5 billion USD, down 21 percent from the same period last year.

Contraction was predicted across a wide range of export items, including agricultural and forestry products (over 29 percent), aquatic products (38 percent), textiles and garment (22 percent), footwear (17 percent), computers, electronics and components (8 percent), and phones and parts (27 percent), Lam said.

He added that exports to China will be likely to shed 25 percent from a year earlier to 5.6 billion USD. Shipments of agricultural and forestry products, and aquatic products was down 30 percent and 33 percent, respectively.

In January, Vietnam’s foreign trade totalled 38.1 billion USD, a year-on-year decrease of 12.9 percent, and the country’s trade deficit was estimated at 100 million USD.

The country’s exports slumped 15.8 percent month on month to 19 billion USD, of which 6.31 billion USD was gained by domestic enterprises, down 23.1 percent, while the remainder came from the foreign-invested area, including crude oil, down 11.6 percent.

Year-on-year growth was reported in exports of computers, electronics and components (5.6 percent) and wood and timber products (1.4 percent). Meanwhile, declines were seen in textiles and garment (21 percent), phones and parts (22.4 percent), and footwear (9.7 percent).

Of agricultural products, aquatic products and coffee experienced the contractions with 25.2 percent and 30.3 percent, respectively.

The US was Vietnam’s largest market last month, importing 4.8 billion USD worth of goods, followed by China (3.7 billion USD).

January imports fell 14.4 percent from a month earlier to value 19.1 billion USD, of which 8.7 billion USD was from domestic companies, down 17.7 percent, while the remainder from foreign-invested sector, down 11.3 percent./.VNA