In April alone, the country fetched 12.2billion USD from overseas shipments, down 0.6 percent from a monthearlier. Of the figure, an estimated 7.5 billion USD was earned byforeign-invested firms, dropping 0.1 percent year-on-year. Thisgenerated a trade deficit of 400 million USD.
During themonth, the industrial goods sector sustained a growth of nearly 19percent, lower than 23 percent recorded in the past three months.
In the four months, farm produce, including rice, saw a fall inexporst due to intense competition, said Deputy Director of theExport-Import Department Phan Thi Dieu Ha.
According to Ha,over 1.7 million tonnes of rice brought home 765 million USD, down 18.2percent in volume and around 17 percent in value.
To reachthe goal of 132 billion USD from this year’s exports, Deputy Minister ofIndustry and Trade Le Duong Quang directed its departments and agenciesto clear business bottlenecks, particularly in capital access,administrative procedures and market entry.-VNA