1. Agriculture, forestry and fishery

      a) Agriculture

Agricultural production in the month focused on tending winter-spring crops in Northern provinces; harvested paddy and vegetables in winter-spring crop and cultivated summer-autumn paddy in southern localities. As of April 15, the country cultivated 3,121 thousand hectares of winter-spring paddy, an equal to 100.2% compared with the same period last year. Northern provinces basically completed cultivating an area of ​​1,147.9 thousand hectares, an equal to 100.3%  compared with the same period last year, of which the Red River Delta reached  524.8 thousand hectares,  an equal to 97.9% (decreased by 11.5 thousand hectares) because some localities converted a part of paddy cultivation area to the use for other purposes[1]. At present, the weather was favorable; winter-spring paddy in Northern provinces grew well. Southern provinces cultivated 1,973.1 thousand hectares of winter-spring paddy, equaled to 100.2% compared with the same period in 2017.

As of mid-April, southern provinces harvested 1,525.1 thousand hectares of winter-spring paddy, accounted for 77.3% of the sown area and equaled to 94.1% compared with the same period last year, of which Mekong River Delta reached 1,401.4 thousand hectares, made up 89.1% and equaled to 95.4%. It was expected that by early of May, Mekong River Delta completed harvesting winter-spring paddy, the remaining areas continued to harvest until the end of May and early of June. According to preliminary reports, yield of winter-spring paddy in Mekong River Delta this year was estimated at 67.1 quintal/ha, an increase of 4.5 quintals/ha compared with the same previous  in winter-spring[2]; paddy; production reached nearly 10.6 million tons, an increase of 668.1 thousand tons[3].

In the areas of winter-spring paddy harvested, the localities conducted cleaning the fields, ploughed and dry the soil before seeding the summer-autumn crop. As of April 15, southern provinces sowed 459.8 thousand hectares of summer-autumn paddy, an equal to 81.3% compared with the same period last year, of which Mekong River Delta reached 453.1 thousand hectares, equaled to 81.7%, mainly due to the effects of the cultivating progress of this winter-spring crop in some areas was later compared with the same period. It was forecasted that the summer-autumn crop this year faced difficulties due to long lasting hot weather so the agricultural sector needed to closely manage the crop calendar to sow, while ensured irrigation water sources and closely monitored the situation of pests and diseases.

As of mid-April, there were 416.7 thousand hectares of maize cultivated in the country, an equal to 96.3% compared with the same period last year; 66.4 thousand hectares of sweet potatoes, equaled to 92.5%; 118.7 thousand hectares of groundnut, an equal to 85.9%; 31.8 thousand hectares of soybean, an equal to 108.5%; 560.6 thousand hectares of vegetables and beans, an equal to 100.7%.

Buffaloes and cattle husbandry in the month was generally stable, poultry farming was good. However pig farming continued to face difficulties in consumption and prices. Estimated in April, buffalo population in the country decreased by 0.4% compared with the same period last year; cattle population increased by 2.9%; poultry population increased by 6.8%; pig population decreased by 5.8%. As of April 25, 2018, there was no longer occurred avian influenza, blue ear disease and foot-and-mouth disease in the country.

      b) Forestry

In April, area of concentrated forests in the country was estimated at 19.6 thousand hectares, decreased by 1.5% compared with the same period last year; number of scattered trees reached 6.1 million, decreased by 6.2%; wood production reached 1,097 thousand m3, an increase of 13%; The volume of exploited firewood reached 2.1 million ste, compared with the same period in 2017. Generally , in 4 beginning months, the concentrated forests area was estimated at 48.3 thousand hectares, decreased by 0.2%  compared with the same period in the previous year, in which some provinces saw a sharp decrease in area: Ha Giang decreased by 91.8%; Bac Kan decreased by 85.7%; Thanh Hoa decreased by 26%; Lang Son decreased by 18.8%. Number of scattered trees reached 22.5 million, decreased by 0.2%; wood cut production reached 3,025 thousand m3, rose by 9.6%; exploited firewood production reached 9 million ste, increased by 0.6%.

Protection and prevention of forest fires continued to be strengthened. In April, there were 114 hectares of forest damaged, fell 47.5% compared with the same period last year, of which forest fire area was 39 hectares, fell 4.6%; area of ​​deforested forest was 75 ha, decreased by 57.4%. Generally, in 4 beginning  months this year, area of ​​damaged forest was 308 hectares, fell 26.3% compared with the same period last year, of which area of forest fire was 92 hectares, fell 33.8%; area of ​​deforested forest was 216 hectares, decreased by 22.6%.

        c) Fishery

Fishery production in April was estimated at 704.2 thousand tons, grew up 4.7% compared with the same period last year, of which fish reached 549.8 thousand tons, grew up 5%; shrimp reached 61.7 thousand tons, grew up 6.4%; other fishieries reached 92.7 thousand tons, grew up 2.1%.

Aquaculture production was estimated at 395.3 thousand tons, rose by 5.8% compared with the same period last year, of which fish reached 308.4 thousand tons, increased by 5.8%; shrimp reached 47.8 thousand tons, increased by 7.7%; other fisheries reached 39.1 thousand tons, increased by 4%. Pangasius farming witnessed favorable conditions, Pangasius price was continuously high, producers made profit. Pangasius production in the month was estimated at 111 thousand tons, rose by 1.4% compared with the same period last year, of which Dong Thap reached 32 thousand tons, an increase of 4.3%; An Giang reached 24.8 thousand tons, rose by 5%; Can Tho gained 16 thousand tons, decreased by 0.6%. Brackish shrimp farming in the first months of the year was favorable, the price of shrimp was stable, the model of intensive shrimp farming was strongly developing. Production of black tiger shrimp in April was estimated at 20 thousand tons, increased by 4.7% compared with the same period last year; White leg shrimp production was estimated at 22.8 thousand tons, rose by 9.1%.

Fishery production in April was estimated at 308.9 thousand tons, increased by 3.3% compared with the same period last year, of which fish reached 241.4 thousand tons, rose by 3.9%; shrimp reached 13.9 thousand tons, increased by 2.2%. The weather in the month was favorable for marine catching, production of marine catchings reached 294 thousand tons, increased by 3.4% compared with the same period last year, of which fish reached 231.4 thousand tons, rose by 4%; shrimp reached 12.8 thousand tons, rose by 2.4%.

Generally, in 4 begining months of the year, fisheries production was estimated at 2,090.6 thousand tons, rose by 4.5% compared with the same period last year, of which aquaculture production reached 1,006.1 thousand tons, grew up 5, 9%;  production of fishery catching reached 1,084.5 thousand tons, rose by 3.2% (production of marine catching reached 1,034.8 thousand tons, rose by 3.3%).

  1. Industrial production

The index of industrial production (IIP) in April was estimated to increase by 9.4% over the same period last year, of which the manufacturing rose 12.3%; the production and distribution of electricity went up 9.6%; the water supply, waste and sewerage remediation activities spread 2.6%; the mining and quarrying expanded 5%.

In general for the first 4 months of 2018, the IIP increased by 11.4% over the same period last year, higher than the  increase of 6.6% in the same period in 2017[4]. In particular, the manufacturing continued to grow 14%, contributing 10.6 percentage points to the overall IIP; production and distribution of electricity proliferated 9.7%, contributing 0.9 percentage points; the water supply, waste and sewerage remediation activities increased by 5.5%, contributing 0.1 percentage points; the mining and quarrying activities decreased by 1.2%, causing a decrease of 0.2 percentage points of the overall growth.

The IIP of some 2-digit industrial activities in April remarkably increased against the same period of previous year: the manufacture of electronic, computer and optical products increased by 26.6%; the manufacture of metal rose 16.3%; the manufacture of fabricated metal products (except machinery and equipment) spread 15.2%; the manufacture of beds, wardrobes, tables and chairs grew 14.9%; the manufacture of pharmaceuticals, medicinal chemical and botanical products spread 14.1%. Some industrial activities experienced a moderate increase or decrease, specifically: the manufacture of chemicals and chemical products increase by 4.8%; the mining of coal and lignite increased 4.4%; the manufacture of tobacco rose 3.5%; the manufacture of rubber and plastic products went up 2.9%; the waste collection, treatment and disposal activities expanded 2.7%; the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products increased by 1.4%; other mining activities (stone, sand, gravel …) went up 0.3%; the extraction of crude oil and natural gas decreased by 3.4% (crude oil extraction declined 9.4% and natural gas exploitation increased by 3.1%).

Some main industrial products in in the first 4 months saw a sharp increase year-on-year, as follows: crude iron and steel, fabric from polyester and artificial yarn, milk powder, aquatic feed, television, and processed seafood increased by 38.2%, 26.2%, 20.7%, 19%, 17.5%, and 11.8%, respectively. Some industrial products moderately rose or dropped: natural gas in form of gas, sodium glutamate, shampoo and conditioner, and mobile phones went up 3.1%, 2.9%, 2.8%, and 2.6%, respectively; fresh milk, domestic animal feed, urea fertilizer, shower gel and facial cleanser, extracted crude oil decreased by 0.5%, 1.9%, 3.8%, 5.4%, and 9.4%, respectively.

The IIP in the first 4 months of 2018 in 63 provinces and cities directly under the Central Government increased compared to the same period last year, of which the corresponding increase of Bac Ninh, Hai Phong, Vinh Phuc, Thai Nguyen, Hai Duong, Ha Noi, Dong Nai, Da Nang, Binh Duong, Can Tho, Quang Ninh, Ho Chi Minh City, Ba Ria – Vung Tau, Quang Nam (provinces with large share of the  industrial sector) was: 33.4%, 24%, 13.5%, 12.1%, 10.7%, 8.1%, 8,1%, 8%, 7.9%, 7.3%, 6.5%, 6.1%, 3.8%, 1.2%, respectively.

The number of employees working in industrial enterprises as of 1st April, 2018 increased by 3.9% compared to the same period last year, of which the number of employees in State-owned enterprises decreased by 1.1%; in non-State enterprises increased by 4.3%; in FDI enterprises expanded 4.5%. At this time point, the number of employees working in the mining and quarrying drop 1.8% compared to the same period last year; in the manufacturing rose 4.2%; in production and distribution of electricity grew 0.8%; in the water supply, waste and sewerage remediation activities reduced by 0.2%.

The number of employees in industrial enterprises as of 1st April, 2018 in some provinces sharing large proportion of the industry sector, such as: Can Tho, Hai Phong, Bac Ninh, Thai Nguyen, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Hai Duong, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City, Ba Ria – Vung Tau increased compared to the same period last year with the corresponding figure as follow: 22.9%, 16.3%, 13.6%, 7.9%, 6.8%, 5.3%, 4.1%, 1.6%, 0.4%, and 4%, respectively.

  1. Enterprises registration status[5]

In April, there were 14,510 newly established enterprises in the whole country with registered capital of 133.5 trillion VND, up 79.5% in number of enterprises and 64.5% in registered capital compared with the previous month[6]; the average registered capital of an enterprise reached 9.2 billion VND, went down 8.3%; the total number of registered employees in the month of the newly established enterprises were nearly 106.7 thousand employees, an increase of 54.7%.

In the month, there were 3,281 re-operated enterprises, rising by 82.2% over the previous month; 6,138 temporarily ceased enterprises (including: 2,191 enterprises ceased for a certain period of time and 3,947 enterprises temporarily ceased without registration or awaited dissolution), rose by 71.3%; 1,378 enterprises completed dissolution procedures, an increase of 74%.

Generally for the first 4 months of this year, there were 41,295 newly established enterprises in the whole country with a total registered capital of 412 trillion VND, an upturn of 4.3% in enterprises and an increase of 11.5% in registered capital compared to the same period in 2017[7]; the average registered capital of a newly established enterprise reached 10 billion VND, going up by 6.8%. If 749 trillion VND of nearly 12.2 thousand enterprises that recorded upward adjustment of capital, the total additional capital in the economy in 4 months of 2018 was 1,161 trillion VND. Besides, there were 11,442 re-operated enterprises, declining by 0.9% compared to the same period last year, bringing the total number of newly registered enterprises and re-operated enterprises in the first 4 months of the year to over 52.7 thousand enterprises. The total number of registered employees of newly established enterprises in the first 4 months of this year was 332.1 thousand employees, decreased by 21.7% compared to the same period last year.

By economic activities, in the first 4 months of this year, there were 14.1 thousand newly established enterprises in the wholesale and retail (accounting for 34.2% of the total newly established enterprises), a growth of 3.4% compared to with the same period last year; 5.7 thousand construction enterprises (accounting for 13.7%), making up 2.8%; 5.1 thousand manufacturing enterprises (accounting for 12.3%), a reduction of 3.5%; 3.2 thousand enterprises in the science, technology, consultation service, designing, advertisement and others (accounting for 7.7%), rising by 1%; 2.4 thousand enterprises in the employment services, travel, renting and leasing machinery, equipment and other supporting services (accounting for 5.9%), made up 18.6%; 2.1 thousand enterprises in the accommodation and catering services (accounting for 5.1%), up 12.2%; 2 thousand real estate enterprises (accounting for 4.8%), climbing by 42.5%; 1.1 thousand enterprises in the education and training (accounting for 2.7%), rose by 13%

In the first 4 months of this year, some economic regions in the whole country witnessed an increased in the number of newly established enterprises compared to the same period last year: The North Central and Central Coast areas had 5.8 thousand enterprises, up 7.8% (the registered capital reached 55.8 trillion VND, went up 4.8%); Southeast had 17.5 thousand enterprises, increased by 5.7% (registered capital of 187.8 trillion VND, grew up 10.5%); Mekong River Delta had 3 thousand enterprises, up 5.3% (registered capital of 29.6 trillion VND, up 22.8%); Northern Midlands and Mountains had 1.8 thousand enterprises, went up 3.1% (registered capital of 16 trillion VND, reduced 21.1%); Central Highlands had 1.0 thousand enterprises, up 1.4% (registered capital of 5.9 trillion VND, downturn  40.7%); Red River Delta had 12.2 thousand enterprises, an increase of 1.1% (registered capital of 116.9 trillion VND, rose by 27%).

In the first 4 months of 2018, the number of temporarily ceased enterprises was 26,277 enterprises, reduced 4.1% compared to the same period last year, including 14,187 enterprises ceased for a certain period of time, increasing by 23.5% and 12,090 enterprises temporarily ceased without registration or awaited dissolution, decreased by 24%. In the total number of enterprises ceased for a certain period of time, there were 6,361 one-member limited companies (accounting for 44.8%); 4,283 two-member limited companies (made of 30.2%); 2,347 joint stock companies (shared 16.6%); 1,195 private enterprises (accounting for 8.4%) and 1 collective name. By economic activities, the number of enterprises ceased for a certain period of time in the wholesale and retail was 5.5 thousand enterprises (accounting for 38.9%), up 22.4% over the same period last year; 2.2 thousand construction enterprises (accounting for 15.3%), up 22.6%; 1.8 thousand manufacturing enterprises (accounting for 12.6%), up 17.6%; 723 enterprises in the accommodation and catering services (accounting for 5.1%), up 31.5% … For enterprises temporarily ceased without registration or awaited dissolution, there was 6,148 one- member limited companies (gained 50.9%); 3,004 two-member limited companies (accounting for 24.8%); 2,303 joint stock companies (accounting for 19.1%); 634 private enterprises (accounting for 5.2%) and 1 collective name.

In the first 4 months of 2018, the number of enterprises completed dissolution procedures was 4,699 enterprises, increasing by 15.8% compared to the same period last year, of which 4,296 enterprises with capital size of less than 10 billion VND, accounting for 91.4%. If classified by type of enterprise, the total number of enterprises completed dissolution procedures was 2,083 one-member limited companies (accounting for 44.3%); 1,372 two-member limited companies (accounting for 29.2%); 581 private enterprises (accounting for 12.4%); 661 joint stock companies (accounting for 14.1%) and 2 collective name companies.

  1. Investment

In April 2018, the realized investment from the State budget was estimated at 21,625 billion VND, including: the central capital was 3,838 billion VND; the local capital was 17,787 billion VND. In the first 4 months of the year, the realized investment from the State budget reached 70.9 trillion VND, equaling 21% of the yearly plan and going up 9.3% over the same period last year (the rate in the same period in 2017 was 4.4%), including:

– The capital under central management reached 13.1 trillion VND, equaling 19.9% ​​of the yearly plan and decreasing by 2.3% over the same period last year, of which the investment capital of the Ministry of Transportation gained 4,407 billion VND, equaling 23.9% and decreasing 41.9%; Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development: 1,126 billion VND, equaling 13.9% and rising by 8.7%; Ministry of Health: 665 billion VND, equaling 20.1% and going 27.3%; Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment: 262 billion VND, equaling 17.7% and increasing by 52.6%; Ministry of Education and Training: 228 billion VND, equaling 16.8% and increasing by 39.8%; Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism: 162 billion VND, equaling 21.5% and climbing up 19.8%; Ministry of Industry and Trade: 44 billion VND, equaling 20.2% and decreasing by 18.1%; Ministry of Construction: 43 billion VND, equaling 15.7% and going down 65.8%; Ministry of Science and Technology: 39 billion VND, representing for 16.3% and increased 47.6%; Ministry of Information and Communications 22 billion VND, sharing 16.6% and rising by 15.1%.

– The capital under local management reached 57.8 trillion VND, equaling 21.2% of the yearly plan and jumping up 12.3% compared to the same period of 2017, of which: State budget capital at provincial level reached 39.8 trillion VND, equaling 19.7% and going up 11.2%; the State budget capital at district level reached 15 trillion VND, equaling 24.8% and increasing by 14.9%; the State budget capital at commune level reached 3 trillion VND, equaling 30.5% and increasing by 13.9%. The realized investment from the State budget of some provinces and cities directly under the Central Government in 4 months in 2018 was as follows: Hanoi reached 8,408 billion VND, equaling 22.1% of the yearly plan and climbing up 4.6% over the same period last year; Ho Chi Minh City 4,153 billion VND, sharing 10% and up 6.2%; Thanh Hoa 1,911 billion VND, equaling 30.4% and increasing by 40.3%; Nghe An 1,716 billion VND, equaling 29.3% and decreasing by 4%; Ba Ria – Vung Tau 1,714 billion VND, equaling 26.3% and up 19.1%; Hai Phong 1,697 billion VND, equaling 18.6% and rising by 57.9%; Vinh Phuc 1,672 billion VND, equaling 28.1% and up 1.3%.

Foreign direct investment from the beginning of the year to 20th April, 2018 attracted 883 newly licensed projects with a registered capital of 3,553.8 million USD, an increase of 20.3% in the number of projects and a decrease of 27.2% of registered capital compared to the same period in 2017. Besides, 303 projects which were licensed in the previous years, registered to adjust investment with an additional capital of 2,244.8 million USD, a decrease of 48.5% compared to the same period last year. Thus, the total newly registered and additional registered capital in the first 4 months reached 5,798.6 million USD, a reduction of 37.3% compared to the same period of 2017. The realized foreign direct investment capital in the first 4 months of the year was estimated to reach 5.1 billion USD, an increase of 6.3% compared to the same period in 2017. In 4 months of 2018, there were 1,863 turns of capital contribution and share purchase of foreign investors with a total of 2,262.9 million USD, an increase of 67% compared to the same period in 2017, of which 1,087 turns of capital contribution and share purchase increased the charter capital of the enterprise with the capital contribution of 1.56 billion USD and 776 turns of foreign investors repurchased domestic shares without increasing the charter capital with the value of 703.5 million USD.

In 4 months, the manufacturing activity attracted the most foreign direct investment with capital of newly licensed projects reaching 1,926.1 million USD, accounted for 54.2% of total newly registered capital; the real estate activities reached 455.5 million USD, accounted for 12.8%; The other sectors reached 1,172.2 million USD, made up 33%. If including additional registered capital of licensed projects from previous years, foreign direct investment in manufacturing activity in the first four months of this year reached 3,945 million USD, accounted for 68% of the total registered capital; real estate activities reached 564.5 million USD, made up 9.8%; the other sectors reached 1,289.1 million USD, accounted for 22.2%. For the capital contribution, buying shares of foreign investors, capital invested in the manufacturing activities reached 578.3 million USD, accounted for 25.5% of the total capital contribution; the wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles reached 392.8 million USD, accounted for 17.4%; other sectors reached 1,291.8 million USD, accounted for 57.1%.

In the whole country, 37 provinces and centrally-run cities had newly foreign direct investment projects licensed in the first 4 months of the year, in which Ha Noi had the largest registered capital of 498.7 million USD, accounted for 14% of total newly registered capital; followed by Ho Chi Minh City with 408 million USD, represented for 11.5%; Binh Duong 364.8 million USD, accounted for 10.3%; Ninh Thuan 327.6 million USD, accounted for 9.2%; Dong Nai 273.9 million USD, accounted for 7.7%; Ha Nam 187.7 million USD, made up 5.3%; Ba Ria – Vung Tau 182.7 million USD, accounted for 5.1%; Quang Ninh 176.6 million USD, represented for 5%.

Among 45 countries and territories had newly licensed investment projects in Vietnam in the first 4 months of this year, Japan ranked the top with 877.7 million USD, accounted for 24.7% of total newly registered capital; followed by South Korea with 830.8 million USD, shared 23.4%; Singapore 459.2 million USD, accounted for 12.9%; China 229.6 million USD, accounted for 6.5%; Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (China) 172.5 million USD, made up 4.9%; Netherlands 170.6 million USD, accounted for 4.8%; Thailand 168.5 million USD, accounted for 4.7%.

Vietnam’s outward foreign direct investment in 4 months of 2018, 34 new projects granted investment certificates with a total capital of 129 million USD from Viet Nam; 11 projects adjusted capital with a supplementary capital of 24.6 million USD. The total outward foreign direct investment of Viet Nam (newly licensed and supplementary capital) in 4 months of 2018 reached 153.6 million USD, of which the financial and banking activities reached 105 million USD, accounted for 68.3% of the total investment; the manufacturing activities reached 20.3 million USD, accounted for 13.2%; wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles reached 12.9 million USD, accounted for 8.4%. In 4 months, Viet Nam outward invested in 19 countries and territories, of which Lao People’s Democratic Republic was the leading country with a share of 52.2% of total; Cambodia accounted for: 16.9%; Cuba accounted for 13%.

  1. State budget revenue and expenditure

The state budget revenue from the beginning of the year to 15th April, 2018 was estimated at 364.6 trillion VND, equaling 27.6% of the yearly estimate, of which domestic revenue was 295.7 trillion VND, equaling 26.9%; crude oil revenue reached 16.3 trillion VND, equaling 45.5%; budget balance revenue from export and import  reached 52.4 trillion VND, equaling 29.3%. In domestic revenues, the state-owned enterprises gained 35.2 trillion VND, equaling 21.1% of the yearly estimate; FDI enterprises (excluding crude oil) achieved 48.1 trillion VND, accounting for 21.6%; tax on non-state sector  commerce and services was 60.1 trillion VND, equaling 27.6%; tax on personal income was 31.2 trillion VND, equaling 32.2%; environmental protection tax gained 10.2 trillion VND, equaling 20.9%; revenue from land use recorded at 32.2 trillion VND, equaling 37.5%.

The state budget expenditure from the beginning of the year to 15th April, 2018 was estimated at 353.3 trillion VND, equaling 23.2% of the yearly estimate, of which recurrent expenditures reached 260.1 trillion VND, sharing 27.6%; development investment expenditure reached 54.6 trillion VND, equaling 13.7%; interest payment was 37.6 trillion VND, equaling 33.4%.

  1. Trade, price index, transport and tourism

     a. Retail sales of goods and services

Gross retail sales of consumer goods and services in April 2018 were estimated at 350.5 trillion VND, an increase of 1.7% over the previous month and an increase of 9.5% over the same period in 2017, in which: retail sales of goods reached 265.8 trillion VND, up 1.8% and up 10.9%; revenue from accommodation and catering services reached 43.8 trillion VND, an increase of 2.3% and an increase of 12.3%; traveling revenue reached 2.8 trillion, down 1.5% and up 11.4%; revenue from other services reached 38.1 trillion VND, up 0.8% and down 1.6%. In the first 4 months, gross retail sales of consumer goods and services were estimated at 1,399.4 trillion VND, up 9.8% compared to the same period last year, if excluding the price factor, the growth rate was 8.5% (that in 2017 was 7.0%).

By kinds of economic activity, retail sales of goods in the first 4 months were estimated at 1,060.2 trillion VND, accounting for 75.8% of the total and increasing by 10.8% over the same period last year, of which: food and foodstuff increased by 11.9%; garments by 12.8%; household appliances, tools and equipments by 10.8%; cultural and educational items rose 9.0%; vehicles increased by 8.2%. Some provinces achieved a good increase: Ho Chi Minh City by 12.8%; Hai Phong by 12.6%; Da Nang by 12%; Binh Dinh by 11%; Nam Dinh by 10.9%; and Ha Noi by 10.4%.

Revenue from accommodation and catering services in the first 4 months was estimated at 172 trillion VND, accounting for 12.3% of the total and increasing by 9.4% over the same period last year, of which turnover of Thanh Hoa increased by 11.9%; Lao Cai by 11.4%; Quang Nam by 9.2%; Ha Noi by 9.1%; and Ho Chi Minh City increased by 6.9%.

Traveling revenue in 4 months was estimated at 12.9 trillion VND, accounting for 0.9% of the total and increasing by 26.1% over the same period last year, of which Ho Chi Minh City increased by 30.4%; Binh Dinh by 28.9%; Ca Mau by 27.8%; Hai Phong by 23.4%; and Ha Noi by 18.8%.

Revenue from other services in 4 months was estimated at 154.3 trillion VND, accounting for 11% of the total and increasing by 3.2% over the same period in 2017, of which the revenue of some provinces was as follows: Binh Duong increased by 7.2%; Ba Ria – Vung Tau rose by 5.1%; Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City both grew by 3.6%.

       b. Export and import of goods

Export turnover in March 2018 reached 21,133 million USD which has been the highest export turnover so far. The export turnover in March 2018 was 1,333 million USD higher than the estimated figures, of which: phones and their parts were 268 million higher; machinery, instrument and accessory were 186 million USD higher; textiles were 119 million USD higher; fishery products were 102 million USD higher; iron and steel were 96 million USD higher; rice was 78 million USD higher; electronic goods, computers and their part were 51 million USD higher; cashew nuts were 46 million USD higher; coffee was 40 million USD higher; pepper was 33 million USD higher; wood and wooden products were 25 million USD higher; crude oil was 23 million USD higher; vegetables were 22 million USD higher; plastic products were 21 million USD higher; rubber was 22 million USD lower; petroleum was 26 million USD lower; means of transport and spare parts were 29 million USD less than estimated.

Export turnover in April 2018 was estimated at 18.20 billion USD, a decrease of 13.9% compared to the previous month mainly because that this month had 3 working days fewer than the previous month; and the products Samsung S9 and S9+ were exported by Samsung in March. Regarding export turnover in April 2018, the domestic economic sector reached 5.0 ​​billion USD, down 12.5% ​​compared to the previous month; FDI sector (including crude oil) gained 13.20 billion USD, down 14.4%. Most of the export products in April saw a decrease in turnover compared to the previous month, of which a number of products fell sharply: Iron and steel decreased by 32.1%; phones and their parts reduced by 24.1%; electronic goods, computers and their parts fell by 11.1%; machinery, instrument and accessory decreased by 12.5%. Compared to the same period last year, the export turnover in April 2018 increased by 4.1%, of which: the domestic economic sector increased by 8.4%, the FDI sector (including crude oil) ) grew by 2.5%. Some products had increased export turnover over the same period last year: Machinery, instrument and accessory climbed up by 32.2%, textiles and garments rose by 18.4%, means of transport and spare parts jumped up by 17.9%.

In the first 4 months of 2018, export turnover was estimated at 73.76 billion USD, up 19% compared to the same period of 2017, of which: the domestic economic sector reaches 20.28 billion USD, up 17.9%; FDI sector (including crude oil) accounted for 72.5% of total export turnover, reached 53.48 billion USD, up 19.4%. Export turnover of some main products continued to increase significantly over the same period last year: Phones and their parts reached 16.6 billion USD, up 36.8%; textiles and garments gained 8.6 billion USD, up 15.7%; electronic goods, computers and their parts attained 8.3 billion USD, up 10.8%; machinery, instrument and accessory reached 5 billion USD, up 29.6%; footwear achieved 4.5 billion USD, up 6.4%; means of transport and spare parts reached 2.6 billion USD, up 18.3%; wood and wooden products reached 2.6 billion USD, up 9%. Besides that, a number of agricultural and fishery products also increased significantly: fishery products reached 2.4 billion USD, up 13%; vegetables and fruits gained 1.3 billion USD, up 26.2%; cashew nuts reached 1.1 billion USD, up 33.5% (volume increased by 24.6%); rice reached 1.1 billion USD, rose by 38.3% (volume grew by 22.3%). Some products had export turnover decreased over the same period last year: Crude oil reached 668 million USD, reduced by 24.9% (volume decreased by 41.4%); pepper reached 317 million USD, fell by 31.9% (volume increased by 17.9%).

Regarding the exported goods market in the first 4 months in 2018, the United States was Vietnam’s largest export market with a turnover of 14 billion USD, up 12.7% compared to the same period last year, of which: phones and their parts increased by 56.4%; footwear rose by 13.5%; textiles and garments increased by 12.1%. The following was EU with 13.2 billion USD, went up by 16%, of which: machinery, instrument and accessory increased by 41.9%; phones and their parts rose by 30.7%; electronic goods, computers and their parts grew by 7.9%. China reached 10.7 billion USD, went up by 29%, of which: the turnover of phones and their parts were 3.7 times as much as the same period last year; vegetables and fruits increased by 24%; electronic goods, computers and their parts increased by 23%. ASEAN market reached 7.9 billion USD, grew by 16.4%, of which: rice soared by 159%; iron and steel surged up by 52.5%; phones and their parts increased by 16%. Japan reached 5.8 billion USD, rose by 15.2%, of which: textiles and garments increased by 24.1%; means of transport and spare parts grew by 17.2%. South Korea reached 5.8 billion USD, jumped up by 31.2%, of which: electronic goods, computers and their parts increased by 46.2%; phones and their parts increased by 37.4%; textiles and garments grew by 22.6%.

The turnover of imported goods in March 2018 reached 18,875 million USD, 125 million USD less than the estimated figured, of which: machinery, instrument and accessory were 220 million USD higher; phones and their parts were 119 million USD lower; iron and steel were 41 million USD lower; chemical products were 34 million USD lower; means of transport and spare parts were 32 million USD lower; CBU cars were 30 million USD lower; cotton was 28 million USD lower; petroleum, fishery products and wheat were 16 million USD lower; rubber was 12 million USD lower than estimated.

Imported goods turnover in April was estimated at 17.50 billion USD, went down by 7.3% over the previous month, of which: the domestic economic sector gained 6.90 billion USD, fell by 7.5%; FDI sector reached 10.60 billion USD, decreased by 7.2%. Imported goods turnover of some products decreased compared to the previous month: Machinery, instrument and accessory decreased by 4.4%; plastic reduced by 10.6%; wheat decreased by 13.4%; electronic goods, computers and their parts decreased by 18.9%; liquefied gas decreased by 19.3%; petroleum fell by 19.6%; rubber decreased by 23.9%. Compared to the same period last year, import turnover in April increased slightly by 1.2%, of which: the domestic economic sector increased by 6.1%; FDI sector decreased by 1.8%. Import turnover of some products increased over the same period last year: metals increased by 41.2%; plastic rose by 26%.

In the first 4 months of 2018, import turnover was estimated at 70.37 billion USD, went up by 10.1% YoY, of which: domestic economic sector reached 28.06 billion USD, grew by 11.2%; FDI sector reached 42.31 billion USD, went up by 9.3%. Import turnover of some products increased over the same period last year: Electronic goods, computers and their parts reached 13.4 billion USD, jumped up by 22.3%; phones and their parts reached 4.4 billion USD, climbed up by 9.8%; fabric gained 3.7 billion USD, increased by 10%; petroleum attained 2.8 billion USD, went up by 31.6%; plastics gained 2.8 billion USD, rose by 22.2%; metals reached 2.3 billion USD, jumped up by 33.7%; materials for textile, garment and footwear gained 1.7 billion USD, rose by 1%; chemicals reached 1.6 billion USD, increased by 23.7%.

Regarding the imported goods market in the first 4 months, China was still the largest imported market of Vietnam with a turnover of 18.1 billion USD, increasing by 5.8% compared to the same period in 2017, of which: phone and their parts increased by 19.8%; fabric rose by 5.6%. The following was the South Korean market with an import turnover of 15.5 billion USD, grew by 7.6%, of which: electronic goods, computers and their parts increased by 39.5%; phones and their parts climbed up by 13.7%. ASEAN achieved 9.9 billion USD, rose by 14.5%, of which: machinery, instrument and accessory increased by 22.9%; electronic goods, computers and their parts increased by 18.9%; petroleum increased by 17.8%. Japan reached 5.9 billion USD, went up by 16.1%, of which: spare parts of automobiles increased by 36%; electronic goods, computers and their parts increased by 33.8%. EU reached 4 billion USD, rose by 9.7%, of which: plastic material increased by 41.9%; machinery, instrument and accessory grew by 23.6%. The United States reached 3.6 billion USD, climbed up by 18%, of which: animal feed and NPL increased by 28.6%; electronic goods, computers and their parts increased by 13.3%; machinery, instrument and accessory increased by 7.3%.

Trade balance of goods in March witnessed a trade surplus of 2.26 billion USD[8]. Trade surplus in April was estimated at 700 million USD. In the first 4 months of the year, trade surplus was 3.39 billion USD[9], of which: the domestic economic sector saw a trade deficit of 7.78 billion USD; FDI sector (including crude oil) witnessed a trade surplus of 11.17 billion USD.

         c. Consumer price index, gold price index and USD price index

The consumer price index (CPI) in April 2018 increased by 0.08% over that in the previous month, of which 6/11 groups of goods and services had an increase in price index. Transportation group had the highest increase of 1.18%, mainly due to the impact of 2 adjustments of gasoline and oil price on April 7, 2018 and April 23, 2018 (caused the overall CPI to increase 0.11%). Housing and construction materials increased by 0.18% due to a rise in prices of housing maintenance materials, electricity and water. Group of household appliances and equipments increased by 0.09%; culture, entertainment and tourism by 0.08%; education increased by 0.06% (education service increased by 0.05%); medicine and medical services increased by 0.02% (price of medical service remained stable). The remaining groups of goods and services witnessed decreased or unchanged price indexes: Food and catering services decreased by 0.18%, of which food increased by 0.12% mainly due to rising exported rice prices; foodstuff dropped by 0.33% due to the decrease in most of the products in the group (particularly pork price increased by 1.25%). Post and telecommunication group fell 0.08%; apparel, hats and footwear down by 0.01%; other goods and services decreased by 0.02%; drinks and cigarettes stabilized.

The average consumer price index for the first 4 months of 2018 increased by 2.80% compared to the average of the same period in 2017. The CPI in April 2018 rose by 1.05% compared to December 2017 and grew by 2.75% compared to the same period last year.

Core inflation in April 2018 increased by 0.05% over the previous month and by 1.33% over the same period last year. The average core inflation in the first 4 months expanded by 1.34% compared to the average of the same period in 2017.

Gold price index in April 2018 increased by 0.47% compared to the previous month; an increase of 3.67% over December 2017 and a rise of 5.41% compared to the same period in 2017. The US dollar price index in April 2018 increased by 0.10% against the previous month; expanded by 0.32% compared to December 2017 and by 0.29% over the same period in 2017.

        d. Passenger and freight transport

Passenger carriage in April was estimated at 376 million, increasing by 1.5% against the previous month and 16.6 billion passengers-kilometers, increasing by 1.8%. In the first 4 months, passenger carriage reached 1,492.1 million passengers, an increase of 10.1% compared to the same period last year and 65.7 billion passengers-kilometers, an increase of 10.7%, of which passengers carried by road reached 1,408.1 million, increasing by 10.3% and 45.8 billion passengers-kilometers, increasing by 10.9%; by inland waterways reached 62.8 million passengers, up 5.8% and 1.2 billion passengers.km, up 6%; by seaway reached 2.4 million passengers, up 6.6% and 142.5 million passengers.km, up 7.3%; by airway achieved quite good with 16 million passengers, up 12.3% and 17.4 billion passengers-kilometers, increasing by 11.9%; particularly railway transport reached 2.8 million passengers, down by 11.4% and 1.2 billion passengers-kilometers, down by 4.5%.

Freight transport in April was estimated at 133.4 million tons, up 1.4% over the previous month and 24.7 billion tons-kilometers, up 1.2%. Generally for 4 months, freight transport reached 524.9 million tons, up 9.4% over the same period last year and 97.4 billion tons.km, up 6.1%, of which domestic transport reached 513.8 million tons, up 9.6% and 52.1 billion tons.km, up 9%; overseas transport reached 11.1 million tons, up 1.4% and 45.2 billion tons.km, up 3%. By kinds of transport, the road reached 405.3 million tons, up 10.2% against the same period last year and 26.7 billion tons.km, up 9.7%; Inland waterways reached 92.6 million tons, up 7.3% and 19.6 billion tons-kilometers, up 6.9%; seaway reached 25.1 million tons, up 4.4% and 49.5 billion tons.km, up 3.8%; railways reached 1.9 million tons, up 5.9% and 1.3 billion tons.km, up 14.8%; air transport reached 90.3 thousand tons, declined by 3.5% and 237.3 million tons.km, fell by 0.2%.

         e. International visitors to Viet Nam

International visitors to Viet Nam in April were estimated at 1,341.9 thousand, decreasing by 0.1% over the previous month, of which: arrivals by air were not equal to the previous month; by road increased by 1.4%; by sea decreased by 18%. Compared to the same period last year, international visitors to Viet Nam increased by 25.2%, because there were many attractive activities to international visitors in the month such as: Vietnam International Tourism Fair in Hanoi; Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Festival; Cultural day of Vietnamese minorities in Hanoi; Asian Food and Culture Festival 2018 in Ha Noi and Quang Ninh. In April, visitors from Asia increased by 31.3% against the same period last year; from Europe expanded by 5.3%; from America rose by 20.4%; from Oceania went up by 10.2%; from Africa increased by 14%

In the first 4 months of the year, international visitors to Viet Nam were estimated at 5,547.3 thousand persons, an increase of 29.5% over the same period last year, of which arrivals by air reached 4,434.5 thousand , an increase of 26.3%; by road reached 970.7 thousand persons, a rise of 58.9%; by sea reached 142.1 thousand persons, a fall of 12.2%

In the first 4 months, visitors from Asia reached 4,168.9 thousand persons, an increase of 36% compared to the same period last year, of which visitors from most major markets increased: visitors from China reached 1,776 thousand persons, up 39.7%; South Korea 1,173.8 thousand persons, an increase of 67.3%; Japan 279.8 thousand, up 7%; Taiwan 227.4 thousand persons, an expansion of 14.3%; Malaysia 177.6 thousand persons, a growth of 16.3%; Thailand 119.3 thousand persons, an increase of 9.2%; Singapore 91.7 thousand persons, a rise of 8%.

Visitors from Europe were estimated at 843.4 thousand, increasing by 12.9% compared to the same period last year, of which: visitors from Russian Federation 261.9 thousand, increasing by 13.4%; United Kingdom 118.3 thousand persons, an increase of 11.1%; France 114.4 thousand persons, an increase of 8.6%; Germany 89.5 thousand persons, an expansion of 8%; Sweden 28.7 thousand persons, a growth of 16.8%; Italy 26.2 thousand persons, a rise of 19.7%; Netherlands 25.5 thousand persons, an increase of 9.3%.

Visitors from the Americas reached 357.3 thousand, an increase of 13.4% over the same period last year, of which visitors from the United States reached 263.5 thousand, an increase of 15.3%. Visitors from Oceania reached 163 thousand persons, an increase of 12.6% over the same period in 2017, of which visitors from Australia reached 147.6 thousand, increasing by 13.2%. Visitors from Africa reached 14.8 thousand, up 22.5% over the same period in 2017

  1. SOCIAL ISSUES

     a. Food shortage among farmers

In April, the whole country witnessed 13.2 thousand households suffering from food shortage a year on year fall of 25%, corresponding to 56.6 thousand persons suffering from food shortage, declined by 24%. Although it was the peak month of the interval crop period, the situation of hunger among the population in April this year witnessed improvement, this month recored the lowest number of persons suffering from food shortage since 2015[10]. Generally, for 4 months of 2018, the whole country witnessed 59.4 thousand households suffering from food shortage a year on year fall of 36.7%, corresponding to 229.8 thousand persons suffering from food shortage, declined by 40.6%. In order to overcome food shortage, from the beginning of the year, all administrative levels, sectors and organizations from central to local level supported these households with 4.8 thousand tons of food.

     b. Epidemic diseases and food poisoning

In April, the whole country witnessed 2.4 thousand cases of hand, foot and mouth disease; 3.4 thousand cases of hemorrhagic fever (3 deaths); 67 cases of typhoid; 46 cases of viral encephalitis; 48 whooping cough; 2 cases of meningococcal meningitis; 3 cases of human streptococcus suis infection  and 20 cases of food poisoning (3 deaths). Generally, for the first 4 months of 2018, the whole country witnessed 7 thousand cases of hand, foot and mouth disease; 14.8 thousand cases of hemorrhagic fever (4 deaths); 162 cases of typhoid; 131 cases of viral encephalitis (2 deaths); 101 cases of whooping cough; 230 meningococcal meningitis; 30 cases of human streptococcus suis infection (3 deaths); 18 deaths from rabies and 522 cases of food poisoning (6 deaths).

As of 15 April 2018, the total number of alive HIV-infected persons over the country was 209.4 thousand persons and the number of cases turned to AIDS was 90.7 thousand persons; the number of persons died of HIV/AIDS nationwide was 96.1 thousand persons.

       c. Traffic accidents

In April (from 16 March to 15 April), there were 1.346 traffic accidents traffic accidents occurred nationwide, including 708 traffic accidents from less serious to more and 638 traffic collisions, causing 639 deaths, 356 injuries and 653 slight injuries. Compared to the same period last year, the number of traffic accidents in April decreased by 13.5% (the number of traffic accidents from less serious to more decreased by 7% and the number of traffic collisions went down by 19.7%); the number of deaths declined by 6.2%; the number of injuries dropped 12.7% and the number of slight injuries decreased by 25.5%.

Generally, for the first 4 months of 2018, there were 6,020 traffic accidents occurred nationwide, including 3,104 traffic accidents from less serious to more and 2,916 traffic collisions, causing 2,788 deaths, 1,576 injuries and 3,060 slight injuries. Compared to the same period last year, the number of traffic accidents in the first 4 months of this year decreased by 5.5% (traffic accidents from less serious to more decreased by 3.4%; the number of traffic collisions decreased by 7.6%); the number of deaths decreased by 0.3%; the number of injuries dropped 9.4% and the number of slight injuries decreased by 16.8%. On average 50 traffic accidents occurred a day in the first 4 months of 2018 nationwide, including 26 traffic accidents from less serious to more and 24 traffic collisions, caused 23 deaths, 13 injuries and 25 slight injuries.

       d. Damages caused by natural disasters

Damage caused by natural disasters in April 2018 was mainly due to rain and thunderstorms, caused 3 deaths, 10 injuries; 5.7 thousand houses collapsed, hit by landslides and roof ripped-off; more than 200 hectares of rice and arable crops were damaged. According to preliminary reports, the total value of loss caused by natural disasters in the month was more than 185 billion VND. Generally, for the first 4 months of 2018, natural disasters caused 3 deaths and 17 injuries; nearly 9.6 thousand houses collapsed, hit by landslides and roof ripped-off; 5.4 thousand hectares of rice and arable crops were damaged; Total value of damage was estimated at over 378 billion VND.

      e. Environment protection, fire and explosion prevention

In April, 864 cases of violating regulations of environment protection were found, of which 820 cases were addressed with total fine of over 10.4 billion VND. Generally, for the first 4 months, 5,124 cases of violating regulations of environment protection were found, of which 4,749 cases were addressed with total fine of over 66.2 billion VND.

In April 2018, there were 368 cases of fire and explosion across the country, causing 21 deaths and 75 injuries, with an estimated damage of over 426.5 billion VND. Generally, for the first 4 months, there were 1,453 cases of fire and explosion across the country, causing 54 deaths and  141 injuries, with an estimated damage of over 840 billion VND./.

GENERAL STATISTICS OFFICE

[1] Included nearly 3 thousand hectares of land acquisition and cleared for industrial zones, road construction, infrastructure construction of tourist resorts and new urban areas; converting 2.1 thousand hectares to growing perennial crops, nearly 1.5 thousand hectares to other annual crops and 960 hectares to aquaculture; 3.9 thousand hectares of unproductive land due to the impact of weather, polluted and abandoned land

[2] Some localities gained high yield of winter-spring paddy compared with the winter-spring paddy last year: Ben Tre increased by 9.1 quintal / hectares; Dong Thap increased by 8.2 quintals / hectare; Can Tho increased by 6.5 quintals / hectare; Kien Giang increased by 6.3 quintals / hectare; Tien Giang increased by 4.7 quintals / hectare.

[3] Some localities reached high yield of winter-spring paddy compared with the previous winter-spring paddy: Dong Thap increased by 148.6 thousand tons; Kien Giang increased by nearly 130 thousand tons; Long An increased  by 94.9 thousand tons; Tra Vinh increased by 69.1 thousand

[4] Of which, in the first 4 months of 2017, the industry increased by 9.5% compared to the same period last year; production and distribution of electricity rose 10%; the water supply, waste and sewerage remediation activities spread 7.6%; the mining and quarrying activities decreased by 7.6%.

[5] Source: National business registration information system, Business Registration Management Agency, Ministry of Planning and Investment.

[6] Compared to the same period last year, the number of enterprises increased by 10.7%; the registered capital rose by 35.7%.

[7] In the first 4 months of 2017, the number of newly established enterprises increased by 14% over the same period last year; the registered capital made of 48.9%; the average registered capital of an enterprise went up 30.6%.

[8] Trade surplus in March was estimated at 800 million USD.

[9] Of which, for the first 4 months, the trade deficit from Korea was 9.7 billion USD, went down by 2.9% compared to the same period last year; trade deficit from China reached 7.3 billion, decreased by 16.2%.

[10] April 2015: 33.6 thousand households suffering from food shortage and 142.4 thousand persons suffering from food shortage, April 2016: 24 thousand households and 104.2 thousand persons suffering from food shortage, April 2017: 17.6 thousand households and 74.5 thousand persons.

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