ĐỒNG NAI — The southern province of Đồng Nai posted a record trade surplus of US$1.7 million in the first nine months of this year.

This was revealed by the provincial Department of Industry and Trade. The province reached an estimated export turnover of $12.5 billion in the period, a year-on-year rise of 11 per cent, while its import topped $10.8 billion.

Among the province’s main export products were footwear, garment-textile, timber products and fibre, as well as steel and iron, electronics and computers and machine and equipment.

Of them, footwear took the lead in terms of export value in the nine-month period, earning the province more than $2.52 billion, up 11 per cent, year-on-year. The value is expected to hit approximately $3.46 billion in the whole year.

Đinh Sỹ Phúc from Taekwang Vina Joint Stock Company in the province’s Biên Hòa Industrial Zone 2, which is one of four leading footwear exporters in the province, said his company produces more than two million pairs of shoes per month and most products are exported.

Since the beginning of this year, orders have been pouring in, so his company has increased capacity by some 15 per cent compared to the same period last year, Phúc said.

Đồng Nai’s Statistics Office predicted that with the current growth momentum, the province’s export value was likely to fetch $17 billion by this year-end. That could result in a new record trade surplus of nearly $2.2 billion.

Businesses in Đồng Nai are taking advantage of the free trade agreements that Việt Nam has already inked with international countries and blocs, and the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community to foster their export turnover. 

Director of the Department of Industry and Trade Dương Minh Dũng said the province’s exports to large traditional markets such as the United States, Japan, South Korea and Europe have experienced a significant growth in the January-September period.

The high growth would be maintained as many provincial businesses have received orders until early 2018, he said.   

The province is now home to 3,500 enterprises involving import-export activities. The figure is expected to rise when many foreign-invested firms come into operation in the near future, said the provincial Statistics Office. — VNS