The General Statistics Office said exports had risen 7.7 percent year-on-year to US$3.3 billion.

Of this, domestic enterprises had accounted for $1.55 billion and foreign firms the rest.

Garment, footwear, and seafood had been the major earners. Some commodities had posted impressive growth – coffee over 137%, tea nearly 57%, and seafood 40%.

Vietnam has set an export target of $48 billion for the year. It was $39.6 billion last year.

Minister of Trade Truong Dinh Tuyen said the target was a challenge since Vietnam’s major export items, mainly raw materials, especially agricultural products, had little chance of seeing price increases.

Exporters should therefore focus on improving quality and productivity to achieve the goal, he said.

The FDI figure rose 2 percent to $350 million.

Of this $305 million was invested in 29 new projects and the rest in existing ones.

Vietnam hopes to attract $11 billion this year.

Industrial growth was 26 percent, with production of diesel engines and rolled steel spiking.

Some 369,000 foreign travelers came to the country, marking a 9.5-percent rise over January 2006.

Source: TTXVN – Translated by Tuong Nhi