The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has estimated Vietnam’s eight-month export earnings at US$84.82 billion, representing an annual increase of 14.7 percent.

Transporting rice for export

The MoIT said export revenue hit US$11.5 billion and imports were valued at US$11.8 billion in August alone, rising 5.2 percent from July.

Import turnover for the year thus far totals US$85.4 billion, 14.9 percent higher than the same period in 2012.

Vietnam’s trade deficit reached US$577 million, equal to 0.7 percent of the country’s total export turnover.

At the MoIT’s online conference on September 3, many participants attributed the rising import surplus to a sharp decline in values of key export items, including seafood and other agricultural products.

Vietnam Food Association Deputy Chairman Pham Van Bay said current global rice market fluctuations have dramatically impacted Vietnamese rice’s export price. Abundant Indian and Thai rice supplies force prices down.

The MoIT stressed the need to minimise inventory levels and stabilise market prices. Other priorities include facilitating the support industry’s development, ratcheting up administrative reform, and expanding export customer bases, especially if the yearly US$127–128 billion export value target is to be achieved.