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Vietnam’s economy maintains growth despite inflation
Vietnam ’s economy maintained its growth in June and the first half of 2008 as a whole despite impacts from inflation, price fluctuation, bad weather, and diseases.
At a conference on June production held in Hanoi on June 26, representatives from ministries, agencies, localities and corporations agreed that the GDP growth rate of 6.5 percent recorded in the past six months was a success, creating an impulse to obtain the growth of 7 percent in the remaining months of this year.
According to Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Cao Viet Sinh, the results signaled the initial effects of the Government’s measures to curb inflation.
In the reviewed period, Vietnam got a bumper winter-spring rice crop with an output of 18 million tonnes, up 1 million tonnes over the same period last year.
The agro-forestry-fisheries production value recorded a 4.5 percent year-on year increase.
The industry production obtained a 16.3 percent increase, a considerable high rate in the context of inflation. Almost localities reported higher growth as compared to the same period last year.
The export turnover surged by 30 percent year-on-year to reach 29.7 billion USD.
The trade deficit saw a slowdown in June but the total of the past six months still counted at 14.7 billion USD, or nearly half of the export turnover and higher than the figure of 2007.
Deputy Minister Sinh said the trade deficit must be limited under 1 billion USD per month in the remaining six months to keep the total under the benchmark of 19-20 billion USD. “However, the slowdown in trade deficit in June proved that control measures starts its action,” he added.
Other positive signals from the economy included the slowdown increase of the consumer price index (CPI) in June, which was estimated at 2.14 percent, much lower than the May record of 3.91 percent.
The foreign direct investment (FDI) attraction in the past six months also set a record of 31.6 billion USD, outdistancing the 2007 figure of 21.3 billion USD.
The conference also agreed on some existing problems, including the high prices of some key materials and consumer goods, natural disasters and diseases, slow capital disbursement, and sluggish construction process of major projects.
Deputy Minister Sinh stressed that the situation required more efforts from the Government, ministries, agencies and the whole community for higher growth rates in the rest of the year.
VNA
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