Trade deficit returns in February as new production cycle begins

Vietnam posted a trade deficit of US$1.2 billion in February as enterprises began a new cycle of production after Tet holiday, raising the demand for imported materials for production.

Photo for Illustration (Pho to: Thai Thien).

According to the General Statistics Office, the domestic sector reported a trade deficit of US$2.12 billion while the foreign direct investment (FDI) sector enjoyed a trade surplus of US$925 million in February.

In the first two months of this year, Vietnam suffered a trade deficit of US$46 million which was the result of a US$3.48 billion trade deficit of the domestic sector and a US$3.43 billion trade surplus of the FDI sector.

During the two-month period, the total national export revenue was estimated at US$27.3 billion, up 15.4% over the same period in 2016 including US$7.6 billion of the domestic sector (up 12.2%) and US$19.7 billion of the FDI sector (up 16.8%).

The total import revenue was estimated at US$27.4 billion, up 19.6% against the same period last year including US$11.1 billion of the domestic sector (up 22%) and US$16.3 billion of the FDI sector (up 18%).

The US remains the largest export market of Vietnam with a total export revenue of US$6 billion in the first two months, up 18.9% over the same period in 2016. It is followed by the EU with an export revenue of US$5.4 billion, up 13.2% and China with an export revenue of US$3.3 billion, up 36.4%.

China is still the largest import market of Vietnam with an import revenue of US$8 billion in the first two months of this year, up 23.8% over the same period in 2016. The Republic of Korea (RoK) comes in second with US$5.6 billion worth of import revenue, up 35% while ASEAN comes in third with US$3.6 billion, up 11%.

(Source: NDO)