Exports still up in first nine months despite pandemic: GSO
Vietnam maintained its upwards trend in exports at a time when COVID-19 has ravaged international trade, with year-on-year growth of 4.2 percent posted in the first nine months of 2020, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).
A tea processing factory in Thanh Son district of Phu Tho province (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnam maintainedits upwards trend in exports at a time when COVID-19 has ravaged internationaltrade, with year-on-year growth of 4.2 percent posted in the first nine monthsof 2020, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).
At a press conference in Hanoi on September 29,GSO General Director Nguyen Thi Huong said total trade revenue reached 388.73billion USD between January and September, up 1.8 percent year-on-year.
Exports were estimated at 202.86 billion USD, up4.2 percent.
The domestic sector remained a driver of exportgrowth, as it earned 71.8 billion USD from shipments, up 20.2 percent andaccounting for 35.4 percent of total exports. Meanwhile, the foreign-investedsector raked in 131 billion USD, including crude oil sales, down 2.9 percentand making up 64.6 percent of the total.
Thirty commodities posted export revenue of morethan 1 billion USD, accounting for 91.3 percent of total exports. Five saw over10 billion USD in turnover each, accounting for 59.8 percent, the GSO reported.
Meanwhile, imports declined 0.8 percentyear-on-year in the first nine months to 185.87 billion USD, including 82.3billion USD imported by the domestic sector (up 4.7 percent) and 103.5 billionUSD by the foreign-invested sector (down 4.8 percent).
Thirty-two commodities posted over 1 billion USDin import value each, or 88.3 percent of total imports.
The country posted a trade surplus of 16.9 billionUSD in January-September, compared to a surplus of 7.27 billion USD in the sameperiod last year, with domestic businesses posting a deficit of 10.52 billionUSD and foreign-invested enterprises a surplus of 27.5 billion USD (includingcrude oil).
In September alone, exports declined 0.7 percentmonth-on-month to 27.5 billion USD while imports increased 5.6 percent to 24billion USD, for a surplus of 3.5 billion USD.
The figures rose 11 percent and 3 percentyear-on-year in the third quarter, to 80 billion USD and 68.5 billion USD,respectively./.
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A tea processing factory in Thanh Son district of Phu Tho province (Photo: VNA) 
