Of which, the domestic sector contributed $37 billion, up 5 per cent, and the foreign-invested sector (including crude oil) made up $91.1 billion, up 7.4 per cent.

 

However, in September alone, exports plunged 6.8 per cent to an estimated $15 billion compared to August due to a turnover reduction in several key export items such as telephones and components (down 17.4 per cent to $506 million), footwear (down 18.2 per cent to $200 million) and garments (down 7.1 per cent to $175 million.)

 

From January to September, the country spent $125.4 billion on imports, surging 1.3 per cent over same period of last year, with the foreign-invested sector making up $74 billion and the domestic sector accounting for $51.4 billion.

 

A slight increase seen in both sector’s imports in nine months proved that local production was well on track to recover, the GSO said.

 

In the period, Việt Nam enjoyed a trade surplus of $2.7 billion. Unsurprisingly, the foreign-invested sector obtained a trade surplus of $17.1 billion while the domestic sector suffered a trade deficit of $14.4 billion. 

 

Việt Nam’s farm exports rise in 9 months

 

Agro-forestry-fisheries exports fetched an estimated US$2.5 billion in September, lifting the total nine-month turnover to $23.3 billion, up 6 per cent year-on-year.

 

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, agricultural exports during the reviewed period experienced a yearly rise of 7.2 per cent to $11.1 billion.

 

Of this, coffee recorded the highest increase of some 40 per cent in volume and 22 per cent in value compared with same period of last year. Up to 1.39 million tonnes of coffee, valued at $2.48 billion, was shipped to overseas markets from January to September.

 

Pepper came next with 146,000 tonnes for $1.19 billion, up 31.5 per cent in volume and 13.1 per cent in value, respectively.

 

After suffering a temporary downtrend, tea and rubber bounced back, enjoying positive growth of 0.2 per cent and one per cent, earning $152 million and $1.1 billion, respectively. 

 

However, the export of rice, which is a key farm produce in the country, dropped 16.4 per cent in volume and 12.5 per cent in value to 3.76 million tonnes and $1.69 billion, respectively. China remained the largest importer of Vietnamese rice with a 35.5 per cent market share, followed by Ghana with 11 per cent and Indonesia with 9.4 per cent. 

 

In this year’s nine-month period, shipment of seafood products brought home more than $4.9 billion, surging 4.3 per cent year-on-year. The US, Japan, China and South Korea were the four main importers of Vietnamese seafood, making up 53.7 per cent of the total export revenue.

 

At the same time, forestry exports raked in $5.1 billion, equivalent to the value during the same time last year.