CẦN THƠ – The Mekong Delta city of Cần Thơ has shown strong socio-economic performance in the first half of 2018, with all indicators exceeding the targets. 

According to Dương Nghĩa Hiệp, vice director of the city’s Department of Industry and Trade, in the first six months of 2018, Cần Thơ registered a 13.5 per cent growth in total retail and service revenues, amounting to VNĐ63.07 trillion (US$2.77 billion), equivalent to 53.6 per cent of its yearly target. 
Earnings from exports and services reached $966.85 million, fulfilling 54 per cent of the yearly target and marking an increase of 16.37 per cent over the same period last year. 
Of this, the export revenue of goods was $773.48 million, up by 20.73 per cent year-on-year. 
Cần Thơ’s key export products included seafood ($238 million), rice ($141.2 million), farm produce and processed food (nearly $70 million), leather ($42.5 million), fertilisers ($12.2 million) and pharmaceuticals and veterinary drugs ($11.9 million). 
Meanwhile, earnings from services reached $193.37 million, an increase of 1.67 per cent over the same period last year. 
The city’s import revenue in the first six months of this year was $227.65 million, reaching 56.9 per cent of its plan for the year, and marking an increase of 31.5 per cent year-on-year. Cần Thơ mostly imported raw materials for production. 
In the rest of the year, the city will continue calling on local firms to engage in a programme to sell Vietnamese products in rural areas, industrial parks and residential areas. 
The province will also organise fairs for Vietnamese goods across the city, while continuing to seek measures to support local firms in boosting production and exports. – VNS