Vietnam's trade deficit soars<\/p>\n
HANOI (AFP): Vietnam's trade deficit has soared to US$ 4
\nbillion in 1996, up more than 80 percent on the previous year as
\nthe country's rapid export growth failed to keep pace with
\nimports.<\/p>\n
Exports for the year were at $7.1 billion, up 30 percent on
\n1995 but imports rose 36.2 percent to $11.1 billion, according to
\nfigures released early this week by the General Department of
\nStatistics.<\/p>\n
The trade deficit for 1995 was up 73 percent, a rise that
\nVietnamese officials attribute to increasing imports of equipment
\nand machinery by foreign investors.<\/p>\n
The trade figures have raised some alarm bells with Prime
\nMinister Vo Van Kiet complaining that Vietnamese industries
\nremain generally uncompetitive.<\/p>\n
Vietnam's swelling trade and current account deficits -- now
\nat more than 15 percent of gross domestic product -- come after a
\nyear of mixed economic results.<\/p>\n
Inflation was at just 4.5 percent -- its lowest figure since
\nreforms were launched in earnest a decade ago -- and growth has
\nbeen 9.5 percent, according to government figures.<\/p>\n
But some western economists warn that Vietnam is entering a
\ncyclical slowdown with stockpiles rising and increasing
\ncentralized government control over the state sector hindering
\nthe development of exports.<\/p>\n
Several economists have estimated that growth could slow to
\naround 7 percent next year because of a failure to clear away
\nbottlenecks in export procedures.<\/p>\n
This year cement and steel stockpiles have grown, leading to
\nstronger appeals for more protection for domestic industries.<\/p>\n
Although official figures put the share of imports from
\nconsumer goods at less than 10 percent of the total, these
\nfigures are believed to underestimate the amount of money spent
\non generally unproductive foreign goods.<\/p>\n
The figures also fail to account for smuggling of consumer
\ngoods across the borders from Laos, Cambodia and China that could
\nadd as much as a billion dollars to Vietnam's deficit.<\/p>\n
Coal exports were up 44 percent over 1995, while rice sales
\noverseas grew 51 percent despite widespread damage to crops from
\nflooding and storms. Sales of rubber, coffee and textiles all
\ndeclined.<\/p>\n
Steel imports grew 43.6 percent despite a major rise in
\ndomestic production while refined fuels were up 15.9 percent.<\/p>\n
Ho Chi Minh City saw the fastest rise in exports of any
\nregion, up 42.9 percent over the past year to 3.72 billion
\ndollars, the city's statistics office reported.<\/p>\n
Manufactured exports from the city grew at 24.5 percent and
\naccounted for nearly two thirds of the total exports followed by
\nagricultural products which grew at 146.3 percent in 1995 amid a
\nsurge of rice sales.<\/p>\n
Overall economic growth in Ho Chi Minh City in 1996 has been
\nestimated at around 15 percent, making it one of the fastest
\ngrowing cities in the world.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/vietnams-trade-deficit-soars-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}