Thailand
Laos registers trade surplus in first quarter
Laos has registered a US$95 million trade surplus in the first quarter of 2017 following an historic trade surplus over the 2015-2016 fiscal year, the government told the National Assembly this week.
Officially-recorded export over 2017’s first three months was valued at US$1,212 million, while import was recorded at US$1,117 million, the Minister of Planning and Investment Dr Souphanh Keomixay told the ongoing ordinary session of the NA on Tuesday.
The export value represented 27.2 percent of the total target set for the whole year while imports represented 24.9 percent.
The three-month trade surplus was recorded after Laos registered its first trade surplus in its history over the 2015-2016 fiscal year in which the 12 months of the fiscal year started from October through September, which was previously used as financial year.
Statistics showed that over the first nine months of the 2015-2016 fiscal year, export value reached US$3,157 million, about US$115 million more than the import value marking the first time that Laos had registered a trade surplus.
In 2016 (January-December), the country registered a trade surplus of US$308.6 million as export value reached more than US$4.523 billion, while imports were recorded at more than US$4.215 billion.
Dr Souphanh told Parliament that the country had registered a trade surplus due to the fact that it has seen a considerable increase in the export of electricity and industrial processing products manufactured in various special economic zones.
On the other hand, imports of machinery and equipment for construction projects have decreased as many mega-projects have been completed while the price of imported petrol has also decreased.
In addition, a number of products manufactured domestically have been supplied in local markets which lessen import need.
An official from the Import-Export Department under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in charge of information analysis told the Vientiane Times yesterday that the export of electricity has considerably increased in recent years making significant contribution to the trade surplus.
“Export revenue generated by the Hongsa Lignite power plant alone reaches at least US$50 million a month,” the official said, citing statistics provided by the Ministry of Energy and Mines, adding that the import of almost all items had decreased.
Statistics from the Import-Export Department showed that Laos’ top two exported goods – electricity and gold – have remarkably increased in export value.
The export of electricity almost doubled between 2015 and 2016 from just more than US$587.2 million to more US$1.03 billion, while gold mineral export generated more than US$717.7 million, up from just more than US$588 million recorded in 2015.
However, despite Laos having registered a trade surplus last year and this year’s first quarter, the 2017 socio-economic development plan approved by the NA in October has set a trade deficit for the year.
The plan has set the export target value at US$4.459 billion, while import is set at US$4.482 billion, about a US$23 million trade deficit.
The Import-Export Department’s official said that Laos expects to import more as major construction projects like the Laos-China railway project enter their construction phases when the import of machinery and construction materials are expected.
In addition, revenue generated from the export of banana, which generated a considerable amount of money in previous years, is also expected to decrease in the coming years after the government has announced to stopping of operations of banana farms after learning that chemicals used on the farms posed a threat to both the environment and local livelihoods.
Statistics show that the export of bananas grown in Laos had increased tenfold from more than 30.8 billion kip (US$3.8 million) in 2011-12 to more than 324.8 billion kip (US$40 million) in 2014-15.
Source: http://www.vientianetimes.org.la/FreeContent/FreeConten_Laos.html