Ho Chi Minh City’s export revenue is estimated to hit 6.24 billion USD in the first quarter of 2015, an annual drop of 4 percent, according to the municipal Department of Industry and Trade.

Excluding crude oil, the figure would be 5.25 billion USD, up 5.62 percent from the same period last year.

Of the figure, a surge of 15.1 percent to 3.9 billion USD in industrial goods exports is expected, with garments and textiles contributing 1.19 billion USD, up 8.3 percent; electronics and components, 988.2 million USD, up 73.5 percent; and footwear, 565.2 million USD, a rise of 12.6 percent.

Key markets for wood and timber product exports, such as Europe and Japan, have experienced difficulties since the outset of the year, resulting in less new contracts, said Tran Quoc Manh from the Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of Ho Chi Minh City (HAWA).

The city’s export of agricultural, forestry and seafood products will see a 23.4 percent plunge to 919 million USD.

The biggest contributor to the contraction is rice, bringing home only 93.6 million USD and down 70.2 percent annually. The same decreasing trend is seen in other staples such as seafood, coffee and rubber.

Among the few exports with growth are peppers and vegetables, up 13.9 percent and 25 percent, respectively.-VNA