Economy

Agriculture still employs a majority of the population (though it produces a smaller share of the GDP than industry and services), and rice is by far the leading crop. The Mekong and Red river deltas are among the world's greatest rice-growing regions, the former benefiting from heavy rainfall and rich alluvial soil and the latter notable for its elaborate network (c.2,700 mi/4,350 km) of dikes, dams, canals, and locks that provide irrigation and flood control. Peanuts, corn, sweet potatoes, and beans are secondary food crops, and coffee, cotton, tea, pepper, and sugarcane are among the cash crops produced. Fishing and aquaculture comprise an important industry, and marine products are a major export, especially shrimp. Rubber is also important. Timber resources are still substantial, particularly in the north, but deforestation resulting from highland resettlement, shifting cultivation, and commercial cutting is an increasingly serious problem.

Most of the country's mineral resources are in the north, and Vietnam produces large amounts of coal as well as having sizable deposits of phosphates, manganese, bauxite, chromate, and other metal ores. Substantial offshore petroleum (oil and gas) deposits exist in southern waters, and crude oil is an important export. Vietnam's industrial development was hampered by prolonged war, but as a result of economic reforms that began in the late 20th cent. and accelerated in the early 21st cent., there has been considerable industrial development. Important industries include food processing; clothing and shoe manufacturing; machine building, steel, cement, fertilizer, glass, and paper production; and tire manufacturing. Many of the large and capital-intensive projects are joint ventures between foreign and Vietnamese local governments. The tourism industry is also significant. Vietnam's main trading partners are China, Japan, the United States, and Singapore; the country joined the World Trade Organization in 2006.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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