Vietnam Posts $3.8B Trade Surplus with EU in Jan-Oct
Vietnam posted a trade surplus of $3.8 billion with the European Union in the first ten months of this year, the General Statistics Office said.
The two-way trade rose to $13.8 billion during the period, of which Vietnam exported $8.8 billion worth of goods to the EU, up 17% on-year and imported $5 billion, up 11.6%.
Apparel, footwear, woodwork products, unripe coffee beans and seafood were Vietnam’s export staples to the EU while its main imports were machinery, medicines, apparel accessories, steel and fertilizers.
President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso said in early October that the EU expected to start negotiations on FTA with Vietnam by late this year.
The EU currently is Vietnam’s second largest importer after the U.S. The two-way trade fell 6.67% from a year earlier to $15.2 billion in 2009 due to the global economic slowdown. (GSO Nov Edition 2010)
Vietnamese
