Vietnam’s Q1 GDP growth slows down as weak demand affects exports According to Reuters
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Workers work at an export shoe factory in Hanoi, Vietnam December 29, 2020. REUTERS/Kham/File Photo
HANOI (Reuters) – Vietnam’s economic growth in the first quarter slowed to 3.32% from 5.05% in the same period last year, government data released on Wednesday showed , due to a sharp drop in exports.
The Southeast Asian country, a manufacturing hub for the region, reported exports that fell 11.9 percent year-on-year in the January-March period due to weak global demand.
Smartphone shipments, the country’s biggest export, fell 15% to $13 billion in the first quarter, while electronics shipments fell 10.9%, the General Statistics Office (GSO) said. GSO) said in a report.
Industrial production in the first quarter fell 2.3% from a year earlier, while total retail sales of goods and services in the country rose 13.9%, the General Statistics Office said.
The General Statistics Office said that consumer prices in March decreased by 0.23% compared to February. The average consumer price in the first quarter increased by 4.18% over the same period last year.