Market and product

(VEN) - Import-exports were difficult in February 2011 due to the long Lunar New Year holiday. However, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said that exports still looked good in the first two months of the year as they achieved a higher growth than in the same time in many recent years.

Positive exports

Statistics from the Ministry of Industry and Trade indicate that export revenue came to US$5.25 billion this February, falling 26 percent from the previous month but increasing total export revenue in the first two months by 40.3 percent against the same months last year, to US$12.34 billion. Of this, the domestic sector generated US$5.36 billion, a 40.4 percent increase; and the foreign investment sector reaped US$7 billion, a 40.1 percent increase.

Exports that grew rapidly in February were (1) farm produce and seafood reaching US$2.84 billion, increasing 57.6 percent from a year ago and accounting for 23 percent of all export earnings, (2) minerals US$1.4 billion, 18 percent and 11.3 percent and (3) industrial products US$8 billion, 39.4 percent and 65.6 percent, respectively.

In this month, the price of many products soared against a year ago, particularly food. Specifically, the price of cashew kernels climbed 35.8 percent, coffee up 38.9 percent, pepper up 54.4 percent, rubber up 75 percent, crude oil up 27.6 percent and fossil coal up 99 percent.

In addition, the amount of many exports increased as a result of world economic recovery. The export volume of cashew kernels increased 6 percent, coffee up 5.6 percent, rice up 63 percent and rubber up 57 percent.

Overall, following positive changes in the world market and the close direction from the government, exports were good in the first two months of this year, creating a good premise for increased exports in the time being.

Stable trade deficit

Import purchases reduced about 22 percent from January to US$6.2 billion in February. They were almost US$14.2 percent in the first two months of this year, a 26.8 percent increase against a year ago. Of this, the domestic sector imported US$8.2 billion worth of goods, up 23.3 percent, and the foreign investment sector US$5.9 percent and up 32 percent.

Given this, trade deficit stood at about US$950 million in February compared with more than US$1 billion monthly in the last three months of 2010.

Trade deficit came to US$1.83 billion in the first two months of this year accounting for 14.8 percent of export earnings, compared with less than 18 percent projected by the National Assembly. Not including gold import, which amounted to about US$371 million, trade deficit was only US$1.46 billion and about 11.8 percent of export revenue during these months.

Cotton took the lead among fast-growing imports increasing 102.9 percent in value against a year ago, followed by wheat up 37.8 percent, cattle feed and materials up 20 percent, gasoline and oil up 60 percent, chemicals up 24.3 percent, pharmaceutical products up 28.2 percent, plastic materials up 34.1 percent, fiber up 61.7 percent, fabric up 48 percent, materials for the textile-garment and leather footwear industries up 26 percent, and gemstone-metals up 58 percent.

Notably, many kinds of fuel and material imports increased rapidly in volume in recent months showing that the Vietnamese economy is becoming stable and that production and exports are increasing fairly high./.