The trade surplus of 1.3 billion USD in the first month of 2021 amid the complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic has created momentum for growth.
Exports reached 27.7 billion USD, 6 items over 1 billion USD "accelerated"
Speaking to Lao Dong reporter on the afternoon of February 2, 2021, Mr. Tran Thanh Hai - Deputy Director of the Import-Export Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade) said that the total import-export turnover of goods in January 2021 is estimated at 53.9 billion USD, an increase of 45.21% over the same period, of which the export turnover of goods reached over 27 billion USD, an increase of 46.71%; import of goods reached 26.9 billion USD, an increase of 43.71% over the same period.
“The trade surplus is only 100 million USD, but the above results can be said to be very positive. The import-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 decreases compared to the last months of the year, but this year we still maintain the import-export results and such growth is very impressive” – Mr. Tran Thanh Hai said.
In January 2021, the export turnover of the agricultural, forestry and fishery group was estimated at 2.03 billion USD, an increase of 22.71 TP3T over the same period in 2020, accounting for 7.31 TP3T of total export turnover. In this group, except for vegetables, coffee and rice, whose turnover decreased compared to the same period last year, other items all had an increase in turnover compared to the same period last year: Aquatic products increased by 19.61 TP3T; rubber increased by 142.21 TP3T; cashew nuts increased by 51.71 TP3T; pepper increased by 42.41 TP3T...
“This is a very optimistic growth figure, creating a foundation for agricultural exports to accelerate in the following months,” said Dr. Nguyen Quoc Toan, Director of the Department of Agricultural Product Processing and Market Development (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development).
Good implementation of free trade agreements (FTAs)
According to the World Bank, after contracting 4.31% in 2020, the world economy is forecast to grow 41% in 2021, 0.2 percentage points lower than the previous forecast.
The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) said: The pandemic is forecast to continue to affect the economy in both the short and long term. “Risks also come from political fluctuations, trade tensions and the public debt situation in the world, requiring Vietnam to proactively take drastic solutions to ensure the implementation of the set socio-economic development goals” - Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung commented.
Economic experts' analysis shows that, in addition to the outstanding export performance that created a trade surplus of 1.3 billion USD in the first month of the year, there is also a reason that domestic aggregate demand has been shrinking for a long time and has not been restored, causing import growth to slow down. This needs to be addressed to boost domestic aggregate demand to promote economic growth.
Mr. Tran Thanh Hai (Ministry of Industry and Trade) also noted: Although many positive results have been achieved, we cannot be subjective when the COVID-19 epidemic is still complicated in the world and in Vietnam.
“The epidemic is reappearing in community infections in Vietnam. On the one hand, we continue to exploit the benefits brought by new generation FTAs such as CPTPP and EVFTA, on the other hand, we also promote investment attraction, especially large projects with high technology content to maintain growth momentum and increase export value in the coming time” – Mr. Tran Thanh Hai emphasized.
According to Vu Long laodong.vn