Vietnam’s positive economic growth trend since 2017 has carried on as can be seen in import-export turnover in the first quarter, which exceeded 54 billion USD. The General Statistics Office said the number is 22% higher than that of the same period last year, projecting a vibrant picture for Vietnam’s exports this year.
Agricultural products exports in the first three months of 2018 reached 8.7 billion USD. Among which, fruit and vegetables have witnessed the most impressive growth of 33% year-on-year with 934 million USD in revenues, even surpassing major exports products like rice and crude oil.
Nguyen Bich Lam, Director General of the General Statistics Office said "Agriculture has seen the highest growth in a decade at 4.05% to be specific. The impressive growth is attributed to restructuring policies in agro-forestry and fishery fields and also in agriculture sector as a whole."
With trade surplus in the first quarter hitting 1.3 billion USD, Vietnam economic picture has a good kick start for robust growth throughout the year.
According to Vu Duc Giang, Chairman of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association, "Garment businesses have got orders until quarter 3. The most delightful signal is the growth of 7% year-on-year. So I have faith that the yearly target of 35 billion USD is in our hands."
However, it can be seen that the most effective cash cow for national economic growth in the first quarter is still FDI enterprises while the so-call Vietnam’s real added values still fall short of expectation.
Le Quoc Phuong, Former Deputy Director of the Center for Industry and Trade Information under the Ministry of Industry and Trade said "such high growth is commendable yet we should be made clear that FDI is still the driving force while Vietnamese enterprises’ contribution is yet to meet our expectation."
Vietnam’s exports still have a lot to do in terms of market expansion and adaptation policies given volatile global market.-VNA
