Export growth target of 8 -10% in 2019 is facing great challenges.
The latest figures from the Ministry of Industry and Trade show that in the first 3 months of 2019, the total export turnover of the whole country reached USD58.51 billion, up 4.7% over the same period last year but much lower than the increase of 24.5% of the first quarter of 2018. In particular, the main items are mobile phones down 4.6%, rice down 26%, cashew nuts and coffee are down 15%.
Trade surplus slipped: In the first quarter of 2019, Vietnam saw an export surplus of USD536 million. This number was disappointed by the same period last year, the country exported surplus of USD2.7 billion. More worrisome, the foreign-invested sector (including crude oil) saw a trade surplus of USD7.57 billion, while the domestic economic sector saw a trade deficit of USD7.04 billion.
Regarding to those causes, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said that global trade in the first quarter decreased by 1.8% compared to the same period last year, which made Vietnam’s export inevitably slow down compared to its current level. In addition, the key economies in the world as well as the leading trading partners of Vietnam such as US, China, and UK all have volatile developments, making Vietnam’s exports be influenced. “The number of new export orders increased at the slowest pace in the last 3 years. Even Samsung Group had narrowed their export rate to the world because many Chinese manufacturers have quickly caught up with Samsung.
In addition, prospects for export of rubber, pepper, coffee … are not very positive due to falling prices in the context of oversupply “- Ministry of Industry and Trade stated.