Falling imports ease trade deficit (26/08)
06/08/2010 - 15 Lượt xem
As the economic downturn depressed major equipment orders and slowed many construction projects, dropping world prices also pushed down the costs of imported petroleum products, causing the nation's total import value during the period to fall by 28.2 per cent.
The value of petroleum imports alone plunged even more substantially, dropping 62.6 per cent to just $3.38 billion. Steel and iron imports also dropped by 42.4 per cent to $3.19 billion, and major equipment imports fell by 16.7 per cent to $7.39 billion.
Meanwhile, the nation's export value declined 14.2 per cent from the same period last year to $37.3 billion in the first eight month of this year.
Exports by foreign-invested enterprises declined even more steeply, dropping 21.1 per cent during the period to $18.6 billion, while domestic enterprises saw export value fall by 5.9 per cent to $18.65 billion.
Falling crude oil prices also took a bite out of export value, said Le Minh Thuy, deputy head of the GSO's trade department, as the nation was a net exporter of unrefined petroleum.
The export value of petroleum in the first eight months dropped a whopping 48.1 per cent during the eight months, he noted, totalling only $4.13 billion, even though export volume grew by 8 per cent to about 9.8 million tonnes.
Other key export products also saw significant declines, with seafood off 7.9 per cent to $2.64 billion, garments down 1.4 per cent to $5.9 billion, footwear down 1.1 per cent to $2.8 billion, and rice off 1.4 per cent to $2.15 billion.
Average export value during the period was about $4.7 billion a month, according to the GSO, well below the $5.38 billion per month the nation needs to meet its total target of $64.57 billion in export value this year.
Source: VietNamNet/Viet Nam News
