Trade deficit tops $16.9 billion

The trade deficit has widened to US$16.9 billion in the first 11 months, up 20 percent year on year, the government said Monday.

In the January to November period, exports rose 34 percent to $58.5 billion while imports reached $75.4 billion, an increase of 38.4 percent, according to preliminary estimates from the General Statistics Office (GSO).

The trade gap widened at a slower pace this month than October, falling to $500 million from $700 million, due to the government’s measures to reduce imports and falling global prices of oil and some other industrial materials.

The GSO often issues trade data ahead of the month's end based on estimates. The government has said it aims to keep the trade gap for the whole year at $19 billion.

Last year it totaled $14.1 billion.

Exporting ‘necessities’

Exports were led by oil shipments, which grew 31 percent by value to $9.9 billion, even while slipping 10 percent by volume. Garment shipments rose 19 percent to $8.4 billion, while footwear exports advanced 18 percent to $4.2 billion.

“Garments and footwear are necessities, so exports in these categories may not suffer as much,” said Raymond Mallon, an independent economist who has been based in Hanoi since 1991.

Seafood shipments climbed 25 percent to $4.3 billion, while furniture exports rose 20 percent to $2.6 billion. Rice exports surged 89 percent by value to $2.7 billion and coffee shipments added 7 percent by value to $1.8 billion, even while slumping 21 percent by volume.

Imports were led by machinery and equipment, purchases of which climbed 35 percent to $12.6 billion. Petroleum-product imports jumped 58 percent by value to $10.6 billion, while steel purchases from overseas rose 46 percent by value to $6.4 billion.

Recent import growth “was partly foreign-investment financed,” said Mallon. “As industrial expansion and foreign-investment inflows slow, import growth rates are [also] likely to slow.”