The national trade deficit reached US$58 million in the first seven months of this year, representing only 0.09 per cent of total export value, the General Statistics Office (GSO) has reported.

This followed a decline in imports of $323 million from May to June, and $390 million from June to July.

GSO's Trade Department director Le Thi Minh Thuy said it reflected how the country's demand had declined, and attributed the situation to unstable financial and economic conditions both globally and domestically.

In the first seven months, total imports reached nearly $63 billion, up 7.3 per cent over the same period last year. Domestic sectors imported $30.09 billion, down 7.3 per cent, while the foreign -invested sector imported $32.9 billion, an increase of 25.3 per cent.

In July, for the first time this year, the country saw a trade surplus of $100 million thanks to significant declines in imports since June.

According to the GSO, import values of many materials and fuel used for production had grown insignificantly or decreased compared to the same period last year.

The value of fabric imported posted a slight increase of 0.3 per cent reaching $3.96 billion, while automobile imports fell the most at 34.1 per cent with a total value of nearly $1.2 billion.

Other articles witnessing import turnover declines included petroleum, down 8.7 per cent; animal feed, falling 6.9 per cent; textile fibre, down 14.9 per cent; and iron and steel, decreasing 3.7 per cent.

Meanwhile, exports totalled $62.93 billion in the first seven months of the year, up 19 per cent over the same period last year, an increase of about 2.5 times that of import growth.

Electronic goods and spare parts were major exports with a total value amounting to $10.21 billion, of which computers expanded 81.3 per cent and telephones soared by 151.6 per cent.

While domestic sectors reached an export value of $23.89 billion, down 1.65 per cent, foreign-invested businesses saw a 36.6 per cent increase in exports with a total value of $39.41 billion.

VNS