Work in progress at the Esquel Garment Manufacturing Viet Nam Company in the southern province of Binh Duong. The province recorded a trade surplus of approximately US$1.1 billion in the first six months of this year. — VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Vu

BINH DUONG — The southern province of Binh Duong recorded a trade surplus of approximately US$1.1 billion in the first six months of this year, according to the provincial Statistics Office.

During the reviewed period, the province gained more than $8.5 billion from exports, up 16.6 per cent against the same period last year, with $7.2 billion contributed by the foreign-invested sector and $1.5 billion by the domestically invested sector.

Among its major exports, wooden furniture raked in $1.7 billion in exports, a year-on-year rise of 15.4 per cent and accounting for 12.6 per cent of the provincial total export turnover, while garment exports experienced a yearly increase of 11.2 per cent to $904 million, fuelled by the positive influences of free trade deals signed with South Korea and the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU).

Export revenue growth was also recorded in footwear ($741 million, up 16.4 per cent) and ceramic products (nearly $51 million, up 6.6 per cent).

During the January-June period, the province's imports topped $7.4 billion, surging 16.9 per cent from the same period in 2014. Of the amount, nearly $6 billion was spent on the imports of foreign-invested sector; the import value of the domestic economic sector was nearly $1.5 billion.

In the first three months alone, the province exported goods worth $4.22 billion, an annual increase of 15.6 per cent, while its imports hit $3.63 billion, a 15.5 per cent rise compared to last year's corresponding period. That resulted in a trade surplus of $591 million.

According to Binh Duong People's Committee, the State initiatives to clear business hurdles took effect in Q1, with enterprises recording strong and stable operations. —VNS