The recently released figures show an increase of 13.7 percent, even higher than the yearly target of 12 percent, raising the value of industrial production to VND504 trillion.

The foreign-invested sector continues to take the lead with a growth of 17.3 percent. It was followed by the non-state sector (12.7 percent) and the state-owned sector (9 percent).

Experts highlighted the stability in agricultural production during the reviewed period, citing the autumn-winter rice crop of 1,446,000 ha, equivalent to 98.8 percent of the same period last year and the maize crop of 936,000 ha, a rise of 12.5 percent.

Although diseases in plants have affected both rice and subsidiary crops nationwide, the effect has been marginal, noted experts.

They estimated that the country’s turnover of commodities and services would hit VND1,009 trillion in the reviewed period, or a surge of 62 percent year on year.

The earnings from export in the past eight months have reached US$44.5 billion, an increase of 19.7 percent year on year.

Of this, US$20.65 billion was provided by foreign-invested companies and US$2.3 billion is due to rises in the prices of products in the world market.

The exports that registered rises include steel and iron (103 percent), chemicals and chemical products (83 percent), electrical wires and cables (72 percent), machinery, equipment and spare parts (61 percent), timber and furniture (36 percent) and computer, electronic products and components (30 percent).

Although imports in August fell by 1.5 percent to US$6.9 billion, they reached US$52 billion, in the past eight months, a yearly rise of 24.4 percent.

This was put down to the soaring prices of almost all imported items, such as liquefied gas (38.5 percent), petroleum (35.5 percent) and the raw materials to make plastics (32.4 percent).

By mid-August, the State budget had already collected VND313.5 trillion, or 67.9 percent of the yearly estimate.

This includes VND195.5 trillion from local sources (66.4 percent of yearly estimate), VND38.6 trillion from crude oil (52 percent of yearly estimate), and nearly VND76 trillion from imports-exports (79.6 percent of yearly estimate).

Besides these gains, the national economy still faces a number of difficulties including a high trade deficit, the rising prices of products on the world market, especially raw materials, a lack of capital, high interest rates for producers and manufacturers and the threat of diseases and natural disasters.

To address these difficulties and maintain a positive growth by the years end, State agencies need to focus on measures to promote production and business and manage the import of goods that could be produced locally and are non-essential, experts said.

They also urged the State to focus on product quality and detecting trade and tax fraud.