HANOI, June 29 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam's export turnover of gemstones, jewelries and related products reached 630 million U.S. dollars in June, lifting the total six-month figure to 1.027 billion U.S. dollars, the Vietnam's General Statistics Office (GSO) reported on Wednesday.

According to GSO, the country exported 12 tons of gold in June, more than the first five months' total.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Finance's decision to raise the export tax of jewelries having gold content of over 99 percent, from zero to 10 percent since January 2011, made domestic gold transactions stagnant. Insiders said that profit from gold exports decreased sharply.

However, the draft circular on gold business control by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) would limit the export of gold bar. Under this circular, excluding the SBV, only gold licensed businesses are allowed to export gold and gold-related products. But individuals can buy or sell gold bar at the licensed gold shops, which helped warm up gold transactions in recent days.

During June, gold prices increased 0.36 percent against May, making the average figure in the first six months up 38.03 percent year-on-year.