VIETRADE - According to the Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade, totalexport revenue in February of 2012 grows constantly especially to traditional main markets, for example, Japan, the U.S, the EU, etc., reaching 8.2 billion USD, up by 15.6% and 66.3% over that for January 2012 and same period of 2011 respectively; of which the FDI sector (not including crude oil): 4.6 billion USD, up by 15.4% against January 2012, a 2.0 fold rise over the same period of the prior year.

Export turnover in the first 2 months of 2012 is estimated at 15.3 billion USD, an increase of 24.8% over the same period of the prior year, of which the FDI sector (not including crude oil) gained 8.6 billion USD up by 49.2%.

In terms of groups of commodities, there is a change in the export revenue as compared with same period of 2011, of which agriculture, forestry and fisheries sector is expected to reach 2.7 billion USD, down 8.9%, accounting for a 17.7% of the total export value of Vietnam; fuel and mineral sector with 1.58 billion USD (up 5%, accounting for 10.4%); manufacturing sector with 9.75 billion USD (up 42.1%, accounting for 63.8%). Meanwhile, some groups of commodities see a decrease in export revenue, for example, chemicals down by 4,6% against the same period of 2011; fiber and textiles by 20.6%; other metals by 15.6%; wires and cables by 41.1%. Export revenue of other commodities is estimated at 1.26 billion USD, up 35.9%, accounting for 8.1% of the total export value.

In terms of export price, average unit price of many items increase. Examples: prices for cashew nuts increased by 4%, rice by 5.5%, crude oil 19.0%, petroleum by 20%, ores and plastics up 28.5%. However, some items suffer sharply decrease in price, such as: cassava and cassava products by 6.2%, rubber by 36.7%, coals by 29.0%, fiber and textiles by 23.8%.

In terms of export volume, many items conduct a high growth, such as: coal up 89.4%, rubber up 48.8%, tea up 22.3%, plastics up 15.7%, cashew nuts up 6.2%. In contrast, many items see a decrease in export volume, of which coffee down by 18.6%, pepper by 4.5%, rice by 46.0%, cassava and cassava products by 10.2%, crude oil by 16.8%, petroleum by 5.4%, ores and other metals by 65.%, iron and steel by 25.6%.

In terms of export markets, Vietnam’s export to the U.S is estimated to increase by 28%, accounting for 17.6% of the total export revenue; followed by the EU (up 29.4%, accounting for 18.2%), ASEAN (up 20.3%, accounting for 13.8%), Japan (up 48.3%, accounting for 12.1%), and China (up 4.2%, accounting for 9.3%).

Total import turnover in February 2012 is estimated at 9.0 billion USD, increasing by 30.0% as compared to January 2012 and by 47.1% over the same period of last year; of which import of the FDI sector reaches 4.6 billion USD, up by 26.9% and 71.2% over that for January 2012 and same period of 2011 respectively.

Import turnover in the first 2 months of 2012 is estimated at 15.9 billion USD, an increase of 11.8% over the same period of the prior year, of which the state-owned sector gained 7.7 billion USD down by 6.4%, accounting for 48.3% of the total import revenue;  the FDI sector reached 8.2 billion USD, up by 36.8%, accounting for 51.7%.

In terms of import markets, in the first 2 months of 2012, imported goods from Asia accounts for 79.5% of the total import revenue; of which imports from China increased by 22.0% (accounting for 23.5%), ASEAN by 6.6% (18.8%), South of Korea by 35.6% (15.1%), Japan by 6.3% (9.4%). Imports from Europe increase by 10.5%, accounting for 9.0% of the total import revenue; of which imports from the EU up by 30.5%, accounting for 7.7%; followed by the U.S with a 10.5% increase (7.1%), Africa (0.2%), Oceania (2.1%) and other markets (2.0%).

Trade deficit in the first 2 months of 2012 is estimated at 628 million USD, accounting for 4.1% of the total import-export revenue. Trade deficit mainly comes from countries: China (over 2.3 billion USD), ASEAN (873.8 million USD), South Korea (1.6 billion USD)… However, the FDI sector (not including crude oil) gains a trade surplus (360 million USD).