Vietnam's trade deficit at $800 million in 2001
Vietnam recorded a trade deficit of $800 million last year, equal to that in 2000, according to the Ministry of
Trade.
The country exported goods worth $15.2 billion last year and spent $16 billion on imports.
The country saw the value of its major exports
decrease due to price slides on the world
market. For example, crude oil export value
decreased by $50 million against that in 2000,
although the shipment volume rose by 1,000
tons. Rice, coffee, rubber, pepper and cashew
shipments were in a similar situation.
The handicraft, electronic component, textile
and garment and footwear industries reported
falls in both export volume and value.
The country increased the importation of
finished products while decreasing material
and machinery imports.
It spent $629 million on importing steel in
2001, up $117 million against 2000. Paper
imports were valued at $151 million, up $3
million.
The machinery import value stood at $2.75 billion last year, down $250 million against the previous year.
Importation of materials for the textile and garment industry were valued at $1.6 billion, down $400 million,
and for the plastic industry $500 million, down $150 million.
The country targets export value this year to increase by 10% -13% against last year and to be 14% - 16%
in the 2001 - 2005 period, according to the National Assembly's Resolutions issued on December 25, 2001.
The Financial Times - January 02, 2002.
Vietnam optimistic about export prospect this year
HANOI - Despite Viet Nam's poor export performance in 2001, commercial experts are still
optimistic about the country's export prospect for 2002 when they forecast a year-on-year increase of 10
percent to earn between USD 17.3-17.6 billion next year.
They said many export items of Viet Nam have gained a firm foothold in the world market as its export value
registered a rise of around 8 percent this year.
Next year, Viet Nam will rely chiefly on seven strategic export items such as seafood, rice, textile and
garments, fruits and vegetables, coffee, handicrafts and footwear, according to experts.
In 2002, Viet Nam is forecast to export about USD 2.1 billion worth of aquatic products, four million tonnes
of rice and 850,000 tonnes of coffee.
Viet Nam will also earn USD 2.5 billion from textile and garments export, USD 360 million from fruits and
vegetables, USD 270 million from art handicrafts and USD 1.7 billion from footwear, the experts predicted.
Next year, Viet Nam's exports will benefit from the Viet Nam-U.S. trade agreement which came into force in
early December 2001, slasking U.S. tariff rates on Viet Nam's exports to around four percent from an average
of 40 percent.
However, the experts warned, the country will face great challenges as a result of the September 11 terror
attack and China's accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
They added that major measures should be taken by Viet Nam to achieve the ambitious targets, including
policies and programmes to be carried out to remove obstacles hindering export expansion, and efforts to
increase market shares in traditional markets as well as to seek new product outlets in potential markets
such as China, Russia and African countries.
Vietnam News Agency - January 01, 2002.
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