Vietnam records 1.35 billion USD trade deficit in first half of June

The Dinh Vu Port in the northern port city of Hai Phong. (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Vietnam reported a trade deficit of 1.35 billion USD in thefirst half of June as exports reached only 12.3 billion USD – down nearly 2billion USD compared to the latter half of May, the General Department ofCustoms has announced.

Amongitems posting the strongest turnover decline included computers, electronicsand parts with 1.06 billion USD, down 800 million USD; machinery and equipmentwith 1.1 billion USD, down 260 million USD; and telephones and components with 1.96billion USD, down 50 million USD.  

Sincethe beginning of this year to mid-June, the nation’s trade value surpassed 288.6billion USD. Of the sum, over 143.3 billion USD came from exports, up 30 percentyear-on-year while the remainder of 145.3 billion USD was from imports, up 36 percent.That resulted in a trade deficit of 1.96 billion USD, the department said.

Accordingto trade experts, the above-mentioned trade deficit was not a worrisome figureas enterprises ramped up their imports of input materials to meet theirproduction demands.

TranThanh Hai, Deputy Director of the Import-Export Department under the Ministryof Industry and Trade (MoIT), said at the MoIT’s regular press meeting for thesecond quarter last week that the import of production materials currentlyaccounted for a high proportion, especially in garment and footwearsectors, thus pushing up the import value, affecting the trade balance.

TheCOVID-19 resurgence in late April had certain impacts on many productionindustries which had started to recover such as electronics and mobilephones. However, exporting enterprises which already had orders still hadto import raw materials and accessories for production. Thus, an importincrease should be considered a good sign rather than a cause for concern, Haisaid.

Accordingto the MoIT, exports are set to increase by about 21.7 percent by year-endcompared to the year’s respective targets of 4-5 percent.

Tothis end, the ministry would continue to give priority to promoting tradeconnections between Vietnamese enterprises and foreign partners, and theintroduction of made-in-Vietnam goods to domestic and international consumers.

Particularly,it would continue working to promote overseas shipments, diversify both exportand import markets, optimise opportunities generated by free trade agreements,and remove barriers to enter new markets.

Lastyear, the country’s trade surplus hit a record high of 9.9 billion USD, thehighest level seen in the past four years./.

VNA