For the first 11 months of this year, Vietnam’s trade deficit was $16.9 billion, as demand for foreign goods exceeded the value of local goods shipped to foreign markets.
In the January to November period, Vietnam exported $58.5 billion worth of goods, a 34 percent increase on the same period last year. Over the same period, the value of imports was $75.4 billion, up 38 percent.
Against a backdrop of a global economic slowdown, which will reduce domestic and international demand for goods, both export and import growths are expected to slow next year, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Le Duong Quang said.
“It is very difficult to fulfill the target of posting a 13 percent increase in exports and generating export revenue of US$72 billion in 2009,” he said.
Export prices of farm products such as coffee, pepper, wooden items, seafood and minerals are forecast to fall by 30-40 percent next year, while exports of crude oil are expected to decrease by 3.3 million to 4 million tons as the country’s first oil refinery, Dung Quat, which begins operating in February, takes some of the nation’s output.
Production capacities of paddy rice, coffee, rubber, crude oil and coal has reached a peak and were unlikely to increase next year, the ministry said. Meanwhile, industrial products with high export revenues such as garments, textiles and footwear will face some hurdles in the form of import protection barriers in some key overseas markets.
Vietnam’s export revenues are expected to rise 2.4 percent to $84 billion in 2009.
The price of many imported input materials, including steel, fertilizers and petroleum products are expected to decrease by 30-50 percent next year, it said.
The country is expected to import some 11 million tons of petroleum products worth $6 billion in 2009, 46 percent less than in 2008.
Import demand by businesses is also expected to fall as Vietnam’s business sector encounters difficulty accessing capital and selling their goods to subdued markets.
Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Cao Viet Sinh said next year the government will focus on boosting consumption and investment and slowing inflation.
The government will encourage quicker disbursement of foreign direct investment (FDI) and official development assistance (ODA) funds, especially for projects in the fields of infrastructure construction, and hi-tech exports, he said.
He also said the government will try to boost production and exports as well as help firms access capital and ensure social welfare.
Deputy Minister of Finance Do Hoang Anh Tuan Tuesday rejected a rumor that the government would delay an increase in personal income taxes, due to come into effect in January.
Reported by Thanh Nien staff |
E-mail to a friend 
Print version
To top
