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Exports to rise 18 percent to $77 billion next year
The Ministry of Industry and Trade has set a target of an 18 percent increase in exports next year to US$76.7 billion, according to a statement on the government’s website Wednesday.
To meet the target, the ministry has urged businesses to expand production, promote trade and try to break into new markets in addition to their traditional markets such as the US, EU and Japan.
Vietnam is struggling to slow inflation that this year rose the fastest since 1992. The government is encouraging exporters to try to narrow the trade deficit. Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said on October 16 the country may miss this year’s growth target of 7 percent.
The ministry said imports were expected to rise 15 percent to $96.6 billion, creating a trade deficit next year of about $20 billion.
Steel demand next year will be about 12 million tons, of which 6.5 million tons will have to be imported, the ministry predicted in its statement. Consumption stalled this year at about 10.2 million tons, Dinh Huy Tam, general secretary of Vietnam Steel Association, said in an interview last month.
Vietnam, China’s biggest supplier of coal, expects to ship about 20 million tons of coal next year and produce another 24 million tons for domestic consumption, the statement said.
Thanhnien
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