Gold may be excluded from import/export list?

Relevant ministries and branches are still arguing about counting gold imports and exports when calculating import/export turnover.

According to the General Statistics Office, export turnover for the first three months of 2010 decreased by 1.6 percent.

Meanwhile, with imports of over 10 tons of gold during the same period, import turnover increased sharply by 37.6 percent.

As a result, the trade deficit for the first three quarter reached $3.5 billion, or 25 percent of export turnover. This figure exceeded the cap set by the National Assembly.

Once again, counting gold imports and exports has been cited as the main reason for the high trade deficit in the first quarter of 2010.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment’s recent report noted that, if discounting gold, Vietnam’s export turnover increased by 11.9 percent

A deputy minister of the Ministry of Industry and Trade calculated that, without including gold, Vietnam’s export turnover in the first three months of the year increased by 18 percent. The growth rate could have reached 24 percent, if Vietnam had exported the two million tons of crude oil reserved for domestic consumption.

“It is unreasonable to count gold in calculating import/export turnover and the trade deficit, because this method does not truly reflect reality,” the deputy minister added.

He went on to say that gold should not be considered a normal kind of good to be included import/export turnover, and should be seen as a kind of foreign currency.

The Vietnam Gold Business Association agrees, arguing that the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) should exclude gold from the list of import and export items and instead view it as a kind of hard foreign currency.

Other government agencies object. According to Thoi Bao Kinh Te Saigon, SBV is not considering this idea.

SBV Governor Nguyen Van Giau remarked that Vietnam has to pay foreign currencies to import gold, therefore, gold imports or exports influence the balance of payments.

Meanwhile, Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang, who bears the main responsibility for the high trade deficit, told journalists that it is still necessary to count gold imports and exports when reckoning import/export turnover. He also avers that it is necessary to exclude gold import and exports when comparing growth rates and assessing import/export tendencies.

Thoi bao Kinh te Vietnam

Tags: vietnam gold, Vietnam gold import, Vietnam gold market