Viet Nam: Garment exports to reach $13.2b this year

VNEconomyNews.com - Viet Nam earned over US$6.15 billion from exporting goods to the US in the first five months of the year, an increase of 22.5 per cent from the same period last year.

In a recent report, the General Department of Viet Nam Customs said that the US continued to be the largest consumer of Vietnamese exports, accounting for 17.7 per cent of Viet Nam's total export turnover.

The report's findings indicate that Viet Nam has now surpassed the Philippines and Indonesia on the list of ASEAN exporters to the US and has caught up with the current leader, Malaysia.

Viet Nam ships a variety of products to the US, including seafood, machinery, and textiles.

In the report, garments and textiles achieved the highest value, with over $2.55 billion in the first five months of the year. This figure has risen by 17.7 per cent since last year and now represents 50 per cent of the country's garment and textile exports. Footwear followed close behind with an export value of $714 million, making up over 30 per cent of total footwear exports.

The US was the largest importer of Vietnamese handbags, wallets and suitcases in the first five months of the year, spending $180 million on the products for an increase of 44 per cent. In exchange, Viet Nam spent $1.77 billion on imported goods from the US, an increase of 26 per cent over the same period last year.

As a result, Viet Nam had a trade surplus of $4.34 billion in its relationship to the US, an increase of 21 per cent.

The US Commerce Association forecast that Viet Nam would lead ASEAN exports to the US in 2011.

June 25, 2011

Source: vneconomynews.com