Vietnam posts US$500m trade deficit in April; coffee exports down 13%

[HANOI] Vietnam had a trade deficit of US$550 million in April, smaller than the government's forecast for compared with a government forecast of a US$700 million deficit, customs data showed on Thursday.

Exports in April rose fell 10.3 per cent from the previous month to US$20.44 billion, while imports were down 0.8 per cent to US$20.99 billion, the Customs Department said in a statement.

Smartphones, garments and electronic home appliances were among the largest export earners in April. Key imports were electronics, machinery and fabrics, the department said.

Vietnam, the world's top robusta producer, exported 143,296 tonnes of coffee in April, down 16.7 per cent from March. April's actual coffee exports were higher than the government's estimate of 140,000 tonnes. For the first four months of this year, the country exported 631,946 tonnes of coffee, down 13.1 per cent from a year earlier. Coffee export revenue in the January-April period fell 22 per cent to US$1.1 billion

Vietnam's total exports for the first four months of this year rose 6.5 per cent to US$79.24 billion from a month earlier, while imports were up 10.9 per cent to US$78.48 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of US$760 million.

REUTERS