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Trade deficit reaches $12.4 billion in 2010
Despite the four-fold increase in export value against the National Assembly's previous prediction, Viet Nam's trade deficit still totalled US$12.4 billion this year, accounting for 17.3 per cent of the country's total export revenue, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).
This year's trade deficit was marginally lower than 2009's figure of $12.85 billion, the GSO announced.
Excluding gold and gold products for export, the national trade deficit topped $14.2 billion or equivalent to 20.7 per cent of the export revenue, exceeding the target of 20 per cent set by the National Assembly.
Head of the GSO's Trade Department Le Minh Thuy blamed this unsatisfactory result on the country's increasing import volume, totalling $84 billion by the year-end as global goods prices continued rising.
The import turnover of foreign-invested sector remained very high this year at about $36.5 billion, a yearly increase of 39.9 per cent, while the State-owned sector imported only $526 million worth of products, up 8.3 per cent year-on-year.
Import turnover exceeded $1 billion in fabrics, electronics and computer components, plastics, footwear, chemicals and wood.
China continued to be the Viet Nam's largest exporter this year, supplying over $17.86 billion worth of goods, accounting for 24.9 per cent of the country's total import value in 2010, the GSO said.
Global prices rose 10.6 per cent, which had a significant effect on exports, which grew 25.5 per cent to $71.6 billion.
Garments and textiles for the first time posted an annual turnover of $11 billion, putting the sector first in the list of 26 major export goods, while seafood and footwear overtook crude oil as the top three items with the highest turnover.
Crude oil export turnover decreased by 20 per cent to $5 billion this year.
The trade deficit will increase to as much as $14 billion next year, according to forecasts from the Ministry of Planning and Investment's Economic Services Department.
Exports next year, excluding crude oil, are expected to total $78 billion – an increase of 10 per cent over the current year.
Imports are projected to jump by 11 per cent in 2011 to about $92 billion, with foreign-invested firms responsible for $41.5 billion for their imports, 15.3 per cent higher than this year.
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