Hanoi - Vietnam's trade deficit in the first ten months of the year hit a record 16.3 billion dollars, up 77 per cent from a year earlier, local media report on Friday. While the country's exports did rise, with total revenues of 53.8 billion dollars, up 36.7 per cent year-on-year, it spent 70.1 billion dollars on imports, up 42.6 per cent over the same period last year.
These preliminary figures were issued by the General Statistics Office (GSO).
Nine of the country's exports brought in revenues over 1 billion dollars.
Sitting at the top of the list was crude oil at 9.4 billion dollars, followed by garments and textiles at 7.6 billion dollars, footwear at 3.7 billion dollars, rice at 2.6 billion dollars, woodwork products at 2.3 billion dollars, electronics and computers at 2.2 billion dollars, coffee at 1.69 billion dollars, rubber at 1.39 billion dollars and coal at 1.2 billion dollars.
The record trade deficit in the first ten months of the year was driven by sharp hikes in oil and gas, construction materials and fertiliser imports.
Main imports were oil and petroleum products, fertilisers, cement, steel, pharmaceuticals, paper and sugar.
Local economists predict Vietnam's trade deficit is likely to reach 20 billion dollars in 2008, the highest figure the country has ever seen.
