HCM City’s export value surges 34.6 percent

22:49' 01/05/2008 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge - Ho Chi Minh City ’s export value soared 34.6 percent to 7.48 billion USD in the first four months of the year. The rise was mainly fueled by increases in earnings from garment and textile, which raked in 1.08 billion USD, up 15 percent; footwear; 457 million USD, up 9.1 percent; and wooden furniture, 151 million USD, up 42.3 percent. Crude oil remained the spearhead export line of the city as it brought home 3.48 billion USD. Seafood was the only product experiencing a decline in exports. It grossed over 173 million USD in the period, a drop of 7.8 percent compared with the same time last year. Seafood producers explained that they have been affected by petroleum price hike, which cost them 15-20 percent more than the previous period. In the first four months, the country earned 18.26 billion USD, a surge of 24.6 percent over the same period last year.