Vietnam is estimated to earn a total of US$32.23 billion from exports this year, up 21.6 per cent on-year, while import spending will also soar 15.4 per cent to US$36.8 billion, the Ministry of Trade (MoT) said Friday.
The trade deficit for the whole year, therefore, is put at around US$4.6 billion compared to the US$5.45 billion in 2004.
The MoT said the real export revenue is higher than the original target of US$31.5 billion, attributing this to the increase in value of the export of the country’s key items such as crude oil, rice, PCs and electronics, wooden products and rubber.
Crude oil, the country’s No.1 forex earner, is expected to reap US$7.4 billion compared to US$5.7 billion achieved last year.
Meanwhile, rice shipments are set to fetch almost $1.4 billion this year, a 46 per cent jump on year, while PCs and electronics will bring home around $1.5 billion, up 34 per cent.
Exports of wooden products will reach $787 million, a 33 per cent rise from the last year, and rubber at more than $1.5 billion, up 32 per cent.
Vietnam is now the world’s second largest rice and coffee exporter and also ranks first in pepper exports and third in cashew nuts exports
Vietnam hopes to further boost its exports in the coming time through various promotion activities overseas. This year, the holding of Vietnamese Days in the US, Germany and Singapore have helped expand the country’s trade and investment ties with these countries. Similar events will be held in more countries including Japan and South Korea.
During a conference held yesterday in Hanoi to review the export activities in 2005, the MoT also set a new goal for 2006 at $38.08 billion, up 18.5 per cent against this year’s estimation. This goal is higher than the government’s target of $37.44 billion for next year, which will register an on-year rise of 16.4 per cent on-year.
B.T
Vietnamese
