HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam reported a trade deficit of US$1.9 billion in the first quarter (Q1) of this year, the General Statistics Office (GSO) announced on Wednesday.

During the first three months of 2017, total export value grew 12.8 per cent to $43.7 billion compared to the same period last year, while the total import value had a year-on-year increase of 22.4 per cent to $45.6 billion.

The office reported that the domestic economic sector had a trade deficit at $6.06 billion because the sector’s export value only increased 12.1 per cent to $12.3 billion, while its import value rose 24.4 per cent to $18.4 billion, when compared with the same period of last year.

In the first three months, the foreign direct invested (FDI) sector achieved a trade surplus at $4.16 billion, with its export value at $31.4 billion and its import value at $27.2 billion.

Export turnover in the first quarter saw significant increases in some key items like electronic products, including computers and components, up 42.3 per cent. Textiles and garment exports were up 10.2 per cent, and machinery, equipment and spare parts up 34.6 per cent.

Meanwhile, export revenues of other products declined, including mobile phones and components, down 10.7 per cent; rice, down 23.3 per cent; pepper, down 13.9 per cent; and cassava, down 1.3 per cent.

The FDI sector accounts for a large share of the export turnover in major export goods groups, such as 97.3 per cent of the electronics, computers and components, 91.9 per cent of machinery, equipment and spare parts, and 60.1 per cent of garments and textiles.

GSO experts said the country’s largest importers in Q1 were the United States, with a total turnover of $8.7 billion, posting a 4.1 per cent increase year-on-year, and the European Union with $7.9 billion or a 4.2 per cent rise, followed by China with $6 billion, increasing 43.3 per cent from the same period last year, ASEAN with 4.9 billion, up 21.8 per cent, Japan with 3.7 billion, up 15.4 per cent, and South Korea with $3 billion, up 24.1 per cent.

Several key import products grew compared with 2016. Machinery, equipment and spare part imports reached $7.6 billion, up 28.3 per cent, while that of garment and textile rose by 5.5 per cent to $2.3 billion.

China remained Việt Nam’s largest Q1 exporter with a turnover of $11.9 billion, increasing 12.3 per cent from the same period last year. — VNS