Despite economic slowdown, industrial production in the country during the first half of the year was estimated to increase 6.2 percent over the same period last year, reaching 329.1 trillion VND (19 billion USD), said Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Bui Xuan Khu.

At a press conference in Hanoi on June 17, Khu said that with a 9.6 percent growth rate, private firms made the largest contribution to the country’s industrial production increase. Foreign invested firms followed with a growth rate of 5.5 percent. Industrial production by State-owned firms, meanwhile, increased by less than 3 percent.

Besides the efforts made by industrial firms to speed up investment and seek out the consumer market, Khu also attributed industrial sector achievements to the positive impacts from a series of government policies and measures to curb the economic recession.

However, he also said that the 6.2 percent growth rate was much lower than that of the same period in previous years. Due to the economic recession, industrial producers had to shrink their production because of sales lags.

Khu also said the country’s import value during the period was negatively impacted by slow domestic production. Imported materials and equipment, which are used for domestic production, reduced by 10-20 percent.

Khu estimated that the country spent 30.64 billion USD on imports, down roughly 31.6 percent year-on-year, during this period.

Exports in the first half of the year were estimated to be down roughly 10 percent over the same period last year, staying at 27.57 billion USD, he said.

Khu attributed the decrease in exports to price reductions of key export staples including crude oil and agricultural products.

Consumer demand shrinkage in major markets was also a reason for the reduction in export turnover. According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, demand for imported products in the USD declined 7 percent and the figures for the EU and ASEAN were 10 and 6 percent, respectively.

The Government this year approved a growth rate target of 10 percent for the industrial sector.

This calculates to industrial production totalling 711 trillion VND (42 billion USD).
To meet the target, industry will have to achieve a 13.4 percent growth rate in the second half of the year to offset the low 6.2 percent increase in the first half.

Khu admitted that it would be hard for industry to meet the target, especially when still hit significantly by negative impacts from the global economic recession./.