The General Statistics Office of Vietnam (GSO) on May 29 announced that the country’s trade balance was estimated to be a trade deficit of US$800 million in the month of May.
Specifically, the value of imported goods was reported as being roughly US$18 billion, up 3.7% against the previous month, with the domestic economic sector accounting for US$7.1 billion, up 8.3%, and the foreign sector taking up US$10.9 billion, up 1%.
Export value was estimated at US$17.2 billion, down 1.9% against April but up nearly 20% when compared to the same period of last year.
In the first five months of 2017, Vietnam reported a trade deficit of US$2.7 billion, equivalent to 3.4% of the total export revenue. The domestic sector posted a trade deficit of US$10.36 billion, while the foreign sector (including crude oil) enjoyed a trade surplus.
The total export revenues during the period were estimated at US$79.3 billion, representing an annual increase of 17.4%, including US$22.1 billion from the domestic sector, up 13.6%, and US$57.2 billion from the foreign sector (including crude oil), up 19%.
A number of key commodities continued to see large growth in their export value, including telephones and spare parts (US$16 billion, up 12% year on year); garments and textiles (US$9.4 billion, up 9%); electronics, computers and parts (US$9.4 billion, up 46.2%); and footwear (US$5.6 billion, up 10.5%).
The United States remained Vietnam’s largest export market, in the first five months, with a revenue of US$16 billion, up 9.9% against 2016, followed by the European Union with US$14.6 billion, up 9.5%; China with US$10.5 billion, up 40.3%; ASEAN with US$8.6 billion, up 26%; Japan with US$6.4 billion, up 16.6%; and the Republic of Korea with US$5.7 billion, up 34.4%.
The total import value in the first five months of 2017 was estimated to reach US$82 billion, up 23.9% over the same period of 2016. The domestic sector imported US$32.4 billion worth of commodities, up 8.9%, while the foreign sector imported US$49.6 billion worth of goods, up 27.5%.
Vietnam imported the most products from China with a revenue of US$22 billion, up 15.7%, trailed by the Republic of Korea with US$18.6 billion, up 51.9%; ASEAN with US$11.1 billion, up 16.6%; Japan with US$6.5 billion, up 15.5%; the EU with US$4.6 billion, up 13.9% and the US with US$3.8 billion, up 22%.
Source: Nhan Dan
Key words: Vietnam, posts, trade deficit, US$800 million, in May
