Trade surplus exceeds beyond the forecast by nearly $US 2.7 billion

Tien Sa port (Da Nang). Photo: M.Hùng

The information that was released by the General Department of Customs on 10/4, showed that in the second half of March the country exported goods worth nearly $US 11.2 billion, contributing significantly to export growth. The first quarter of 2018 achieved the highest performance in recent years.

Notably, by the end of the first quarter, there are 10 groups of export goods that reached turnovers of $US 1 billion or more. In that, a series of key export groups achieved double digit growth.

Typically, mobile phones and components reached nearly $US 12.6 billion, increased by 62.3% over the same period of 2017, equivalent to an increase of nearly $US 5 billion.

The other major export commodities with high growth rate were textile and garment with $US 6.425 billion, increased by 14.9%; Computers, electronic products and components reached $US 6,334 billion, an increase of 14.1%; Footwear reached $US 3.444 billion, increased by 10.6%...

Furthermore, the first quarter also recorded a high growth of agricultural groups. In that, the largest group was aquatic products with $US 1.768 billion, increased by 17.6%; Vegetables and fruits reached $US 970 million, an increase of 38.5%; Rice reached $US 745 million, increased by 38.1% ... In the agricultural sector, although coffee has the turnover ranked No. 2 with the value of $US 1.028 billion, it only just increased by 0.1% over the same period last year.

With high export turnover, Vietnam’s trade surplus reached nearly $US 2.7 billion in the first quarter. This is the highest trade surplus in many years and also exceeds the forecast by experts (estimated that in the first quarter, Vietnam’s trade surplus would be about $US 1.3 billion).