Agriculture, which includes farming, forestry and fishery, grew at the slowest pace in six years at 0.65% while mining declined by a sharp 3.6% as a result of lower crude output driven by falling global prices and weak coal sales.
The manufacturing sector maintained solid growth at 11.22% while construction also expanded by 9.1%, helping industrial production to rise by 7.5% in total.
Services increased by 6.66%, mainly driven by wholesale and retail growth, hospitality and restaurant services, and financial and insurance services.
Nguyen Bich Lam, Director of the General Statistics Office (GSO) said Vietnam’s economy was facing a great deal of challenges as growth failed to meet expectations and exports have yet to improve substantially.
He said in order to achieve the growth target of 6.7% for the whole year, the government should continue with its flexible monetary policy, strict fiscal policy and focus on restructuring the agricultural sector.
The GSO suggested that the government adopt medium and long-term measures to deal with saltwater intrusion and drought in the Mekong Delta, the Central Highlands and the central regions as such episodes are not only expected for this year, but will be a re-occurring phenomenon.
The agency also advised the government to facilitate supporting industries and start-up companies while accelerating the equitisation of State-owned enterprises in an effective and transparent manner.
