Economics
Drought in Vietnam Holds Back Growth as Farming Takes Knock
- Agriculture production contracts 0.8% in first half of year
- Growth in exports slowing, reflecting weakening demand
A drought hit plot of land in Vietnam.
Photographer: Christian Berg/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Economic growth in Vietnam was little changed in the second quarter as a crippling drought hurt farming output and demand for exports weakened.
Gross domestic product rose 5.6 percent from a year earlier after expanding 5.5 percent in the previous three months, the General Statistics Office said in a statement in Hanoi on Tuesday. The economy expanded 5.52 percent in the first half of the year, lower than the 5.8 percent median estimate of four economists in a Bloomberg News survey.