Vietnam’s agriculture, manufacturing help drive GDP growth

HANOI: Vietnam’s economy posted its strongest first quarter growth in 10 years, expanding 7.38% annually in JanuaryMarch and backed by strong growth in manufacturing and agriculture, the country’s statistics office said.

“The first quarter growth extended strong momentum in the second half of last year, and with the normally low basis of first quarter GDP, this year’s first-quarter growth posted a strong pace,” Nguyen Bich Lam, head of Vietnam’s General Statistics Office (GSO), told reporters.

The South-East Asian nation in 2017 recorded its quickest expansion since 2010, growing 6.81% thanks to record exports earnings and the government’s economic reforms.

The data released yesterday showed the processing and manufacturing industry grew 13.56% in the first quarter, boosted by output of manufacturing firms like Samsung, which produces most of its phones in Vietnam.

The country exported an estimated US$12.3bil worth of phones and spare parts in the first quarter, jumping 58.8% from last year.

Trade surplus in January-March reached US$1.3bil.

Agriculture, seafood and forestry also posted strong growth in January-March, rising 4.05% from the same period last year.

This is the first time in 13 years these sectors have posted growth of more than 4%, boosted by activity in rice and poultry, said Duong Manh Hung, head of GSO’s national accounts system department.