Viet Nam attained a trade surplus of US$1.44 billion in January of this year, bigger than the total $863 million trade surplus for 2013.— Photo songmoi

HCM CITY (Biz Hub) — Viet Nam attained a trade surplus of US$1.44 billion in January of this year, bigger than the total $863 million trade surplus for 2013.

According to the General Department of Customs, total imports and exports to and from Viet Nam reached $21.48 billion in January 2014, down by 9.9 per cent compared with December 2013 and down by 3 per cent over the same period last year.

The country attained an export turnover of 11.46 billion, down by 0.8 per cent compared with the same period last year while imports totalled $10.02 billion, a fall of 5.5 per cent compared with last year.

Foreign invested enterprises scored a trade surplus of $1.41 billion while locally-invested enterprises attained a trade surplus of $31 million.

The big trade surplus in the first month of the year is a good sign for the country's economy. However, it's difficult for Viet Nam to enjoy the trade surplus, as the country's major exports are semi-processed products and trade deficits in two-way trade with China remain very big, according to the Sai Gon Tiep Thi (Sai Gon Marketing) news magazine. — VNS