The trade surplus reached 1.3 billion USD from the first month of 2021 in the context of complicated development of COVID-19 epidemic which created momentum for growth.
Exports reached 27.7 billion USD, 6 items over 1 billion USD “accelerating”
Talking with PV of Labor on the afternoon of 2.2.2021, Mr. Tran Thanh Hai – Deputy Director of Import and Export Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade) said that the total import and export turnover of January 2021 was estimated at 53.9 billion USD, up 45.2% over the same period, of which export turnover reached over 27 billion USD, up 46.7%; commodity import reached 26.9 billion USD, up 43.7%.
“The trade surplus was only 100 million USD, but the result can be said to be very positive. Import and export turnover in January 2021 can be said to be the highest in recent years. Normally, in the first quarter and January, the import-export turnover decreased compared to the last months of the year, but this year we still maintain the results of import-export and such growth is very impressive “- Mr. Tran Thanh Hai said .
In January 2021, the export turnover of agriculture, forestry and fishery was estimated at 2.03 billion USD, up 22.7% over the same period in 2020, accounting for 7.3% of the total export turnover. In this group, except vegetables, coffee and rice whose turnover decreased compared to the same period last year, other items all saw an increase in turnover over the same period last year: Seafood increased by 19.6%; Caosu increased by 142.2%; cashew nuts increased 51.7%; pepper increased by 42.4% …
“This is a very optimistic growth figure, creating a fulcrum for agricultural exports to have more momentum in the following months” – Dr. Nguyen Quoc Toan – Director of Department of Agricultural Product Processing and Market Development (Ministry Agriculture and Rural Development) stated.
Good implementation of trade agreements (FTAs)
After a 4.3% decline in 2020, the world economy is forecast to grow 4% in 2021, 0.2 percentage points lower than the previous forecast, according to the World Bank. .
Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) said: It is forecasted that disease will continue to affect the economy in both short and long term. “Risks also come from political upheaval, trade tensions and public debt in the world, requiring Vietnam to actively take drastic measures to ensure the achievement of economic development goals. proposed by society ”- Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung said.
Economic experts’ analysis shows that, in addition to the export superiority that created a trade surplus of 1.3 billion USD in the first month of the year, there is also a reason due to domestic aggregate demand. shrinkage has not been recovered for a long time, slowing down import growth. This should be taken into account to boost aggregate demand in the country to spur economic growth.
The agriculture, forestry and fishery sector contributes a great deal of export turnover. Photo: Vũ Long
Mr. Tran Thanh Hai (Ministry of Industry and Trade) also noted: Although there are many positive results, we cannot be subjective when translating COVID-19 is still complicated in the world and in Vietnam.
“The epidemic is reappearing in cases in the community in Vietnam. On the one hand, we continue to make good use of the benefits from new generation FTAs such as CPTPP, EVFTA, on the other hand, we also promote investment attraction, especially large projects with high technology content. to have the momentum to maintain growth and improve export value in the coming time ”- Mr. Tran Thanh Hai emphasized.
Vu Long
Source: Lao Dong Newspaper
