Vietnam’s first-quarter exports forecast to fall due to coronavirus

Vietnamese exports in the first three months of 2020 are projected to plummet by 21% from a year earlier as a result of the impacts of the new coronavirus outbreak.

Dragon fruit is one of the exports affected by trade restrictions due to the new coronavirus.
Dragon fruit is one of the exports affected by trade restrictions due to the new coronavirus.

The General Statistics Office (GSO) estimated that exports in the January-March period will fall to US$46.5 billion, with agricultural produce plunging by 29% and seafood 38%.

Garment and footwear exports are also forecast to drop by 22% and 17% respectively while phone and phone parts will drop by 27%.

According to the GSO’s projections, exports to China will fall by 25% in the first three months of 2020 to US$5.6 billion.

Agricultural goods and seafood are expected to be effected the most and are predicted to record the largest reductions in exports.

In January, Vietnam exported US$19 billion worth of goods, down 15.8% from the previous month while it imported goods worth a total of US$19.1 billion.

The United States was the largest buyer of Vietnamese goods in January at US$4.8 billion, followed by China’s US$3.7 billion and the EU’s US$2.6 billion.