Trade deficit hits US$100 mln in January

VGP – Viet Nam’s export and import in January reached US$10.3 billion and US$10.4 billion, respectively, generating a trade deficit of US$100 million.

February 11, 2014 7:16 PM GMT+7

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MIT), export of the domestic sector and the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) sector was US$3.52 billion and US$6.78 billion, respectively.

The sales of farm and aquatic products abroad saw a decrease of 15.8% compared to December 2013 and down 21.3% in comparison with the same period last year, obtaining US$1.51 billion.

Viet Nam earned US$657 million from materials and minerals and US$7.25 billion from processed items.

Import made by the domestic sector and the FDI sector reached US$4.6 billion, down 2.3% and US$5.8 billion, down 1.5%, respectively.

Due to the long Lunar New Year festival, export sharply decreased, stated a MIT representative. However, the FDI sector continues to improve the trade balance.

To achieve the set export goal of US$ 140 billion in 2014, which is up 10% from 2013, the MIT proposed improving the quality and competitiveness of products, especially establishing a mechanism and policy for the sales of agricultural and aquatic products.

By Thuy Dung