Nafta trade deficit

Imports rose by 13.6 percent to $215.59 billion, according to data from the General Statistic Office. In the same period last year Vietnam had run up a trade deficit of $3.31 billion. Mobile phones and components remained the top export item, with their value going up 13.1 percent to $33.7 billion. Electronics, laptops and components were second at $31.7 billion, followed by equipment and spare parts at $24.9 billion. Garment and footwear exports jumped by nearly 20 percent each to $22.1 billion and $14.1 billion. The U.S. continued to be Vietnam’s biggest export market with its purchases going up by 24.3 percent to $67.1 billion. China followed with imports of $30.4 billion. It was Vietnam’s top trading partner with two-way turnover of $103.1 billion. Exports to other other markets rose by 13-27 percent. The trade surplus is low and not very likely to be sustained, the GSO warned. … [Read more...] about Vietnam enjoys trade surplus following double-digit export growth

Bangladesh is seeking $2 billion from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) amid efforts to bolster its foreign exchange reserves, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday. Bangladesh's $416 billion economy has been one of the fastest-growing in the world for years, but rising energy and food prices because of the Russia-Ukraine war have inflated its import bill and the current account deficit. The government wrote letters to the two lenders seeking $1 billion each, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. This comes days after Bangladesh's Daily Star newspaper reported that the country wanted $4.5 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), including for budgetary and balance-of-payment support. Last week, IMF said it would discuss with Bangladesh its loan request. The country's finance ministry, World Bank and ADB did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. Bangladesh's July to May current account deficit was $17.2 … [Read more...] about Bangladesh seeking $2 Billion from World Bank, ADB: Bloomberg News

SINGAPORE/MUMBAI -- Adverse weather across top rice suppliers in Asia, including the biggest exporter India, is threatening to reduce the output of the world's most important food staple and stoke food inflation that is already near record highs. Rice has bucked the trend of rising food prices amid bumper crops and large inventories at exporters over the past two years, even as COVID-19, supply disruptions and more recently the Russia-Ukraine conflict made other grains costlier. But inclement weather in exporting countries in Asia, which accounts for about 90% of the world's rice output, is likely to change the price trajectory, traders and analysts said. "There is an upside potential for rice prices with the possibility of production downgrades in key exporting countries," said Phin Ziebell, agribusiness economist at National Australia Bank. "An increase in rice prices would add to already major challenges for food affordability in parts of the developing world," Ziebell told … [Read more...] about Analysis: Global rice supplies at risk as harsh weather hits top exporters