Q2 GDP growth accelerates on robust exports

29 Jun 2022

The Vietnamese economy increased at an annual pace of 7.72% in Q2 as a result of strong exports, according to government data published on Wednesday.

However, the government cited challenges including soaring inflation in the second half of this year.

Vietnam’s GDP growth compared to 5.05% expansion in Q1 and was the most robust growth in the second quarter since 2011, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

During the first half of the year, GDP increased 6.42% compared to last year, faster than the 2.04% growth in the first half of last year, Reuters news agency reports.

"This is a fairly high growth compared with other countries in the region and in the world, while macroeconomic stability has been maintained," according to a GSO report.

Vietnam began to relax its Covid restrictions at the end of last year, permitting factories to return to being fully operational.

In regard to exports, during the first six months of 2022, they increased 17.3% from the year before, hitting $185.94 billion, whilst industrial production rose 8.7%, the General Statistics Office added.

However, the agency cautioned that the Vietnamese economy will be faced with certain challenges for the remainder of the year, such as inflationary pressures, the persistent effects of the Covid crisis and global political uncertainty.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has been contained in Vietnam, but its evolvement in the world remains complicated with the possible emergence of new virus variants," GSO chief Nguyen Thi Huong commented.

Moreover, consumer prices in Vietnam increased 3.37% in June compared to the previous year, driven by mounting food and energy costs. Transport costs also rose 21.4% this month from a year earlier.