During the first half of May, the country spent US$11.542 billion on imports but earned only US$9.694 billion from exports, resulting in a trade deficit of roughly US$1.85 billion.

By mid-May, the combined trade deficit recorded over US$1 billion as imports amounted to US$89.909 billion, while exports reached only US$88.9 billion.

Computers, electronic items and components topped the list of imports with the total value of US$2.22 billion in the first half of May, followed by machinery, equipment, and spare parts with the total turnover reaching US$1.688 billion.

Meanwhile, the overseas shipment of computers, electronic products and components raked in over US$18 billion during the first 15 days of May, while machinery, equipment, and spare parts brought home US$13.25 billion. With the combined export value of US$31.25 billion, these categories represent some 35 per cent of the country’s total export turnover.

A total of three categories gained export turnover worth US$1 billion or more in the 15 – day period, including telephones and components (US$1.711 billion); computers, electronic products and components (US$1.247 billion); and garments and textiles (US$1.177 billion).

The country’s trade balance saw non-periodic, unpredictable fluctuations in the first five months of the year. January saw a trade surplus of US$815 million, but the trade balance beat a deficit worth US$769 million in February before enjoying a surplus of US$1.627 billion in March.

However, in April the country suffered a trade deficit of U$554 million and the trade gap was extended to US$1.85 billion in the first half of May.

Many economic experts warned that achieving a 10 per cent growth rate in exports would be a difficult task during 2019 as the global economy has shown signs of slowing down. Therefore, they called for more concerted efforts by ministries, sectors, and enterprises to jointly realize the target.