The southern province of Dong Nai shipped goods worth US$5.2 billion abroad from January to April, up 12.8 per cent from the same period last year.

The locality also imported goods worth $4.78 billion during the period, according to the provincial Department of Industry and Trade.

The department said the trade surplus can be attributed to local businesses’ efforts to seek domestic supply of materials and goods.

Stronger connection among domestic enterprises has also helped reduce imports while allowing domestic enterprises to enjoy tax incentives when shipping their products to markets with which Viet Nam has signed free trade agreements, including the Republic of Korea (RoK), Japan, Chile and ASEAN nations.

Export revenue from traditional markets recorded good growth, such as an 88 per cent increase year-on-year in the RoK market, nearly 13 per cent in Japan, over nine per cent in France and nearly eight per cent in the United States.

The province’s major export products were footwear, machinery and equipment, vehicles and fibre.

Meanwhile, a number of agricultural products saw their export price rise in the period, such as cashew nut, coffee bean and rubber latex.

The locality aims to look for more export markets while developing brand names of agricultural products to increase export revenue. – VNS