Vietnam is estimated to gain export earnings of 29.4 billion U.S. dollars in the first nine months of this year, a year-on-year rise of 24.2 percent, according to the country's General Statistics Office on Monday.

Between January and September, items with high export value growth include rubber, up 100 percent to 950 million dollars; coffee, up 35 percent to 788 million dollars; and seafood, up 19.2 percent to 2.3 billion dollars.

During the period, Vietnam is estimated to ship abroad over 4.1 million tons of rice totaling more than 1.1 billion dollars.

Meanwhile, the country is estimated to spend nearly 32.8 billion dollars on importing goods, mainly petroleum products, machinery, steel, fertilizers and automobiles, increasing 19.3 percent over the same period last year.

Vietnam, whose export turnover surged 21.6 percent to 32.2 billion dollars in 2005, can earn nearly 38 billion dollars from exports in 2006, local trade experts predicted.

Source: Xinhua