Vietnam sees 2004 exports up 29% at $26 bn
Reuters
Hanoi, December 28, 2004
Vietnam's exports in 2004 will rise 28.9 per cent to $26 billion from a year ago, with export companies funded with foreign investment showing growth of more than 40 per cent, state media said on Tuesday.
A trade ministry report singled out the export of wooden products as the most successful item for the year, with shipment value soaring 85.9 per cent from 2003 to $1.05 billion, a target the industry had set for 2010.
The ministry estimated exporters that have received foreign investments will post revenues of $14.3 billion this year, up 40.3 per cent, the Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reported.
It said the domestic sector earned $11.7 billion from exports this year, a rise of 17.2 per cent over last year.
The trade ministry forecast exports in December alone at $2.3 billion, compared with $1.71 billion in the same month last year.
The report gave no import figures, but the government is expected to release full trade statistics later this week.
The government has previously forecast that imports for the full year would hit $30.1 billion, leaving a deficit of $4.1 billion, compared with the deficit last year of $5.11 billion.
Vietnam is the world's largest exporter of robusta coffee and ranks second after Thailand in rice exports. Its other key key earnings include crude, textiles, footwear and sea food.
Economists remain cautious about the country's export growth, citing the trade deficit and Vietnam's reliance on the import of raw materials, such as accessories for textiles, for re-export.
An industry ministry report released last week said Vietnam imports 90 per cent of the accessories used in textile production and, as a result, exporters' profit could be just 25 per cent of the total export value of an item.
Total textile exports for 2004 are estimated at $4.3 billion.
Despite being Asia's third largest crude producer after Indonesia and Malaysia, Vietnam lacks major refineries, forcing the Southeast Asian country to import most of its oil products to sustain economic growth estimated at 7.6 per cent.
Vietnam spent $3.21 billion to import oil products in the first 11 months of the year, up 45 per cent from the same period a year ago, compared with $5.26 billion earned from crude oil exports in the period, government figures show.
© HT Media Ltd. 2004.