Vietnam reports trade surplus of US$2 billion in January-November

Vietnam’s trade surplus in the first eleven months of 2014 was estimated at US$2 billion, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

Illustration photo (Photo: Thai Thien)

The latest data released by the GSO showed that Vietnam exported goods worth US$137 billion during the January-November period, up 13.7% in comparison with the previous year.

The foreign sector remained as the main contributor to export growth, earning revenues of US$92.2 billion while domestic enterprises brought in US$44.8 billion.

A number of key exports such as garment, footwear, seafood, timber and coffee continued to achieve steady gains while coal and oil exports dropped in comparison with the same period of last year.

The export of rubber saw a slight increase in volume but value decreased 26.2% as average prices dropped by 27.5% from the previous year.

Throughout the first eleven months of 2014 the US was still the largest importer of Vietnamese goods, valued at US$26.2 billion, followed by the EU, ASEAN and China.

On the other side, total imports were estimated at US$135 billion, with more than half of goods purchased by foreign-invested firms.

Main imports during the period were machinery and equipment, garment materials, oil and plastic products.

Most imports came from China, with which Vietnam posted a trade deficit of US$26.4 billion.

(Source: nhandan.org.vn)