VINACHEM

HA NOI — With export turnover of more than US$1 billion each by September this year, coal, rubber and steel joined the country's $1 billion club, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

The new additions lifted the number of the country's export staples with turnover of more than $1 billion to 13. The others include garments, footwear, crude oil, seafood, gemstones, wooden products, electrical goods, computers, machinery and vehicles.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Thanh Bien said the increasing cost of many export staples helped raise the country's total export turnover in the first nine months of the year to $51.5 billion, up 23.2 per cent year-on-year.

During the period, around 48 per cent of Viet Nam's exports went to the Asian market, followed by America with 23 per cent and Europe with 22 per cent.

Bien attributed the export growth to the State Bank of Viet Nam's decision to lift the inter-bank rate by 2.1 per cent in August as part of the effort to boost exports and curb the trade deficit.

Industry insiders forecast the trade sector would meet the Government's export target of $61 billion this year, given a number of key export industries including apparel still had fresh orders coming in.

To meet the target, the Ministry of Planning and Investment has asked customs officials to scrutinise current procedures to ease the import of materials for export production.

(Source: VNS)