It is estimated that Vietnam’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rose 4.89 percent in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period in 2012, the Ministry of Planning and Investment announced Tuesday.

The rate is slightly higher than the 4.75 percent rise recorded in Q1/2012.

The growth is mostly contributed to the expansion of the service sector, which went up 5.65 percent in Q1 and accounted for 2.6 percentage points of the total growth.

The agro-forestry and fishery sectors rose 2.24 percent against the same period last year, the lowest increase over the last few years due to the difficulties in the seafood and husbandry sectors.

Meanwhile, the industrial and construction sectors increased by 4.95 percent, and 4.79 percent, respectively.

The index of industrial production (IIP) jumped 4.9 percent in the first three months of the year. It rose 3.19 percent month-on-month in March, and 5.6 percent compared to the same period last year.

The unsold inventory index also grew 16.5 percent compared to the same period last year.

The economy is thus expected to face challenges in the second quarter without firm and timely resolutions from the government, the planning ministry said.