THỪA THIÊN-HUẾ — The central province of Thừa Thiên-Huế earned US$474.7 million from shipping products to other countries in the first seven months of the year, a year-on-year surge of 24.88 per cent.

Of the total, $268.2 million was contributed by the foreign-invested sector, up 28.3 per cent, and $137.4 million by the local private sector, up 30.54 per cent, compared with figures of the corresponding period last year.
The United States continued to be the province’s largest importer, accounting for 44 per cent of the province’s export revenue. Along with traditional markets such as China, the European Union, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Taiwan, local products were also exported to Cambodia, India, Slovakia and Sri Lanka. 
Key earners, including industrial processed products, agro-forestry-fishery products, fuel and minerals, as well as beer, sake, fine art and crafts, recorded strong growth. Notably, the export of aquatic products doubled to $16 million. 
The province also spent $303.9 million on purchasing goods from other countries, increasing 8.35 per cent from the same time last year. Most of the imported items were garment support materials and spare parts, with China still the main source of these imports.

Import expenses of local State-owned enterprises and private firms accounted for 18.4 per cent and 30.1 per cent of the total spending, respectively, while those of the foreign-invested sector constituted half the sum.

Despite accounting for a large proportion, FDI spending only rose by 3.12 per cent year-on-year. Local SOEs saw the highest increase of 18.5 per cent in import revenue compared with the same period last year. 
The province is targeting export growth of 15 per cent per year during the 2017-20 period to reach an export turnover of $1.25 billion by 2020. — VNS