Viet Nam reported a trade deficit of US$400 million in November, equivalent to 1.9 per cent of total export value, according to the General Department of Viet Nam Customs.

The nation’s foreign trade this month was valued at an estimated $43.6 billion, down 1.6 per cent from the previous month. Of that figure, the total export revenue went down by 4.1 per cent to $21.6 billion, while import value increased by 1.1 per cent to $22 billion.

The November figure brought the 11-month foreign trade value to $440.45 billion, up 13.4 per cent from the same period in 2017. Despite the deficit in November, there was still a trade surplus worth more than $6.8 billion for the January-November period.

The items with the highest export revenue in the period were telephones and parts with $46.14 billion, up 11.5 per cent year on year. They were followed by the textile-garment sector with $27.77 billion, up 17.4 per cent, and computers, electronics and parts with over $27 billion, up 13.9 per cent.

As regards imports, from January to November, the country spent $38.7 billion on computers, electronics and parts, a year-on-year increase of 13.6 per cent and $11.76 billion on fabric, up 13.6 per cent against the same period in 2017.

The areas with declining imports were machinery, equipment, tools and spare parts with $30.71 billion, down by 0.7 per cent. Phone accessories and components were also down at $14.43 billion, 0.8 per cent lower than in the same period last year. — VNS