In the first three months of this year, Vietnam’s exports reached US$13 billion while its imports stood at US$20.5 billion. The trade deficit totaled US$7.5 million, up 21 percent compared to the same period of last year.

Despite its high technological value, Vietnam is still at the bottom in the region while at the top in terms of medium and low technology. In medium technology, Vietnam accounts for 32 percent, far surpassing Thailand (20.5 percent), Malaysia (20.3 percent) and Singapore (18.7 percent). Meanwhile in terms of low technology, Vietnam makes up 49.5 percent while Indonesia is 33 percent, Thailand (25.3 percent), the Philippines (14.5 percent), Malaysia (11 percent) and Singapore (7 percent).

The figures show the Vietnamese economy is based on using manual labour, instead of brain power. In other words, it is more focused on generating normal jobs than on improving the competitive edge. This is the main reason that in recent years many developed countries have given up on shipbuilding as it brings in low profits but causes serious environmental pollution. In the face of investors demands, however, many localities in Vietnam have agreed to reduce agricultural land to develop industrial projects without considering economic efficiency. For example, investors in southern Long An province could easily turn agricultural land into golf courses. This ill-informed view has led them to suffer long-term consequences.

Vietnam aims to earn US$59.25 billion from exports in 2008. To obtain the target, average monthly exports must hit US$5 billion and key export items must increase by 20 percent compared to 2007. However, in the first three months of this year, seafood rose barely 10 percent, electronics and components (13.4 percent) and handicrafts (12 percent). Judging from these figures, it seems difficult to reach the export target set for the whole year unless import value keeps rising sharply. It means that the import surplus will also increase to a higher level than the previous year. Therefore, if Vietnam fails to improve the nature of the industry by gradually raising the rate of high technology and reducing medium and low technology as a proportion of the national economy, Vietnam’s economic efficiency will remain limited, despite its high export value and growth rate.