VINACHEM

(VEN) - Every year, January is the time when production is intensified to ensure sufficient supply of goods for domestic consumption during the Lunar New Year (Tet). But this has no adverse impact on the export situation. The import, export data of January 2011 show that satisfactory results were achieved in the first month of the year.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade said that in January 2011, Vietnam exported about US$6 billion worth of products, an increase of 18.1 percent compared with January 2010. That included US$2.83 billion worth of exports from companies with domestic capital, up 27.4 percent, US$3.17 billion worth of exports from companies with foreign investment capital (including crude oil businesses), up 10.9 percent.

Notably, among the key export products, textiles and garments took the lead, with export value reaching US$900 million, up 10.6 percent compared with January 2010. Seafood exports reached US$400 million, up 30 percent; electronic product and computer exports totaled US$300 million, up 28.4 percent; rubber exports reached US$337 million, up 145.8 percent; wood and wood product exports hit US$300 million, up 1.8 percent; and coffee exports reached US$266 million, up 30.4 percent.

Compared with January 2010, the export price of many kinds of products increased, for example cashew nuts, up 33.8 percent; coffee, up 35 percent; tea, up 10 percent; pepper, up 66.7 percent; rice, up 2.8 percent; cassava and cassava products, up 43.4 percent; coal, up 59.7 percent; crude oil, up 17.8 percent; and rubber, up 69.1 percent.

In January 2011, the import value decreased 20.4 percent compared with December 2010 to US$7 billion.

Compared with December 2010, the total export value of January 2011 fell by 20 percent. The export volume of fuels and minerals, products of the processing industry, agricultural, forest and aquatic products decreased strongly. For example, crude oil exports reached US$473 million, down 2.4 percent in value and 17.2 percent in volume; rice: US$194 million, down five percent in value and 7.9 percent in volume; coal: US$96 million, down 4.8 percent in value and 40.5 percent in volume.

In January 2011, most domestic textile-garment companies signed export contracts for the first quarter of the year and some even received export orders for the first three quarters. This was a good sign for textile-garment exports in 2011. Happy news also followed for the footwear sector in January 2011, when the European Shoemakers' Association has publicly stated that it has not applied for an extension of the duties on certain kinds of Chinese and Vietnamese shoes, and the current measures would expire on April 1, 2011.

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has decided to narrow the range of exchange rate of VND/USD from three percent to one percent and increase the average inter-bank exchange rate, creating favorable conditions for credit institutions to raise the exchange rates in transactions.

The SBV explained that the decision to adjust the VND/USD exchange rate was aimed at restricting big changes in the exchange rate within a day, preventing risks for businesses and credit institutions while ensuring flexible management of the exchange rate according to the Government's guidelines.

The increased exchange rate will bring more favorable conditions to export companies. Experts explained that when the exchange rate increases, imports will decrease and domestic companies will increase production to improve their competitiveness.

Via Official Note 167/CD-TTg dated February 11, 2011, the Prime Minister required the Ministry of Industry and Trade to help export companies overcome difficulties and intensify control over the trade deficit to keep it at the rate of below 18 percent in 2011.

The import-export results of January 2011 have proved optimistic, and prove the feasibility of the country's import-export targets set for 2011.