HANOI, Feb 29 Reuters Vietnam39;s exports and industrial production in February fell significantly from a year ago, government data showed on Thursday, with economists attributing the drop to the Lunar New Year long holiday rather than to the Red Sea shipping crisis.

The exportreliant country, which is one of the top trading partners for the United States and European Union states, recorded exports this month fell 5 from a year earlier and industrial production contracted by 6.8, preliminary estimates from the General Statistics Office GSO showed.

Disruptions of shipping through the Red Sea caused by the Houthis39; attacks from Yemen in support of Palestinians fighting in Gaza have resulted in a 5573 increase in costs for cargoes from Vietnam, according to estimates from the country39;s trade ministry cited by state media.

That poses risks to Vietnam, warned Hanoibased economist Vo Tri Thanh, but he noted that February39;s bad performance was mostly because the weeklong celebrations for the Lunar New Year, known as Tet in Vietnam, fell in February this year. In 2023, the holiday was in January and that affected the statistical comparison, he said.

The data for the first two months of this year, however, still look upbeat, Thanh said.

Both exports and industrial production showed healthy increases in the first two months of 2024 compared to the same period last year thanks to a massive expansion in January, preliminary estimates showed.

For January and February,…