Vietnam trade deficit likely to fall to $12B this year: Ministry

Vietnam’s trade deficit is predicted to fall to $12 billion in 2010 from the revised $12.853 billion in 2009, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) said on November 1.

The figure will be lower than the ministry’s earlier estimate in September at $13.5 billion, Hoang said in a report presented at the 12thNational Assembly’s 8th on-going session.

The country’s trade deficit will account for 18% of its total export revenues this year, lower than the National Assembly’s full-year cap of 20%, the financial website CafeF.vn cited the minister as saying.

Vietnam’s prolonged trade gap could not be addressed overnight as the country has been disbursed much investment in economic and infrastructure development projects, Hoang noted, elaborating that a 1,200-MW thermal power plant needs around $2 billion which is equal to the total export value of six million tons of rice per year.

The MoIT said at its monthly meeting in Hanoi Oct 26 that Vietnam will reap $70 billion from exports in 2010, up 22.6% on-year, and import $82.5 billion, up 17%, given positive trade in the first ten months.

The General Statistics Office estimates the country exported $57.776 billion worth of goods between Jan and Oct, rising 23.3% on-year and imported $67.278 billion, up 20.7%, resulting in its trade deficit of $9.502 billion.

In late September, the GSO predicted the country’s trade deficit will range between $12.5 billion and $13 billion this year. – CafeF

Tags: Vietnam trade, Vietnam trade deficit 2010