GDP expands 5.1% in first quarter, fueled by service sector
VGP - Viet Nam’s economy expanded 5.1% in the first quarter compared to 5.46% of the same period last year, official statistics showed.
The decrease was mainly attributed to drought and saline intrusion and low growth rate of manufacturing and processing industries.
Rice output dripped nearly 333,000 tons against the same period last year due to adverse weather conditions in the Mekong River Delta.
Meanwhile, manufacturing and processing industries only grew 8.3% compared to 8.94% of the first quarter last year.
In addition, the Government reduced exploitation of natural resources as part of its effort to restructure the economy.
The Government planed to lower crude oil output to 12.28 million tons from 15.2 million tons last year, while natural gas, and coal declined by 8.9% and 5.6%, respectively.
The Government sets the growth target of 6.7% this year, which means the GDP expansion should be 7% in the next three quarters.
Growth should be “reasonable and sustainable”, not by all means, said Ha Quang Tuyen, Director-General of the National Account System Department of the General Statistics Office.
Given domestic and global context, the first quarter’s growth rate is reasonable as macro-balances remained stable, he added.
The first quarter’s growth was mostly fueled by service sector as it contributed 51.9%, Tuyen said.
By Huong Giang
