​Exports shrink to lowest in first half of May

Exports totalled 8.22 billion USD in the first half of May, the lowest recorded on a fortnightly basis since the beginning of this year excluding the last two weeks of January when the Tet holiday took place.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, sharp declines have been seen in a number of key export items, such as phones and parts, down 16.9 percent, and  machinery, tools and components, down 14.5 percent.

Meanwhile, imports rose 1.9 percent to 9.2 billion USD during the period.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruptions to global supply chains, considerably affecting Vietnam’s import and export import activities, the ministry said.

Foreign trade will bounce back in the second half of 2020 if the disease is brought under control by the end of the second quarter, it added./.

VNA