Vietnam earns US$18.63 billion from exports in four months

VietNamNet Bridge - Hanoi,Vietnam
23:33' 25/04/2009 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam has earned US$18.63 billion from exports in the first four months of the year, down 0.1% against the same period last year, according to the General Statistics Office.

In April alone, the country’s export turnover has been reported at US$4.5 billion, down 15.28% compared to the previous month.

Those goods that have enjoyed export growth include cassava and cassava products, up 155.8%; rice, up 43.9%; tea, up 14.8%; pepper, up 1.9%; garments and textiles, up 1.8%.

Particularly, exports of precious metals and gemstones saw sudden high increase, up 40 times compared to the same period last year, earning US$2.54 billion.

Exports of other goods all declined, most notably rubber (down 45.5%), crude oil (down 44.7%) and electric wires and cable (down 43.3%).

In April, Vietnam’s import turnover was reported at US$5.2 billion, up 3% against the previous month. In January-April period, the country imported US$17.83 billion worth of goods, down 41% against the same period last year.

In the first four months of this year, Vietnam saw a trade surplus of US$800 million. However, export turnover (excluding precious metals and gemstones) is tending to decrease.

VietNamNet/ND