Export turnover in November reached US$15.6 billion, up 1.3 per cent since last month, pushing export value in the 11 months of 2016 to $159.5 billion, an increase of 7.5 per cent year-on-year.

The rise in export turnover in the last 11 months is because of a spurt in the manufacturing sector, which makes up a large portion of the export market, the General Statistics Office (GSO) said.

Some industries experienced high growth: machinery and spare parts touched $9.33 billion, up 26 per cent; electronics and computers reached $16.75 billion, up 17.1 per cent, and the mobile phone and accessories segment reached $31.3 billion, up 10.2 per cent.

The export of agricultural products and crude oil slipped compared to the same period last year, pushing down export growth rate from January to November this year to below 10 per cent.

The major export markets in November included the US at $34.7 billion, up 14 per cent, EU at $30.5 billion, up 8.3 per cent and China at $19.6 billion, up 26.7 per cent. The ASEAN market went down by 6.6 per cent, with a turnover of only $15.7 billion.

Overall, the balance of trade from this January to November maintained a surplus, with exports exceeding imports by $2.84 billion.

Imports increased only by 3.5 per cent in 11 months compared to the same period in 2015, with a $156.6 billion turnover. The country with the largest exports to Viet Nam was China, at $44.6 billion, an increase of 0.5 per cent.

The 2016 export growth rate of 7.5 per cent is much lower than the National Congress’ target of 10 per cent, which will be hard to achieve with just one month left in this year. — VNS