HCM City: Exports pick up 6% in eight months

The city’s imports were valued at US$30.68 billion, up 9.6% year-on-year, the department said. 

The industry sector remained the biggest contributor to the export revenue. Exports of computers, electronics and parts led all items to reach US$6.07 billion, up 12.8% year-on-year and accounting for 24.6% of the total exports.

It was followed by shipments of textile and garment which were worth US$3.77 billion, up 5.4% and making up 18.1% of the total.

Exports of machinery, tools and spare parts stood at US$1.53 billion, up 4.9%. 
Footwear was the only key item of the sector experiencing a decline of 2% to US$1.7 billion in export value.

Meanwhile, agro-forestry-fishery products also fell by 0.3% year-on-year to US$3.47 billion, largely due to drops in prices of key hard currency earners such as coffee and rubber. 

Rubber export turnover plunged 24.9% as its price slid 21.3% while price of coffee slumped 14.2%, causing its export value to drop by 3.1%.

The department’s Deputy Director Nguyen Phuong Dong forecast the exports of industrial as well as agro-forestry-fishery products will be on the rise in the final quarter of the year owing to higher demand for New Year holidays and the recovery of the US dollar.

However, many foreign markets have raised their trade barriers and adopted stricter rules on food safety and environmental protection standards, making the biggest challenge to Vietnam’s exports, he said.