Vietnam posts trade surplus of $9.8B in five months

In the period, Vietnam exported about $136.17 billion worth of goods, a year-on-year drop of 11.6%, while imports totalled $126.37 billion, down 17.9% year on year.

As many as 23 export items joined the more than one-billion-dollar club, making up 87.4% of the total export turnover.

Regarding the structure of exports, processed commodities earned $120.24 billion (88.3%); agro-forestry products, $10.79 billion; aquatic products, $3.37 billion; and fuel and minerals, about $1.77 billion.

As for imports, the domestic economic sector imported $43.95 billion worth of goods, down 18.5% year-on-year while the foreign-invested sector imported $82.42 billion worth of goods, down 17.5%.

Of the import revenue, $118.31 billion was spent on production materials and $8.06 billion on consumer goods.

The U.S. was the biggest importer of Vietnamese products with $37.2 billion, while China was the largest import market with $43.4 billion.

Given unpredictable developments in import and export activities, the Ministry of Industry and Trade is continuing to closely monitor developments in the world market and propose cooperation frameworks and solutions to develop traditional markets and diversify export markets. It will also continue supporting businesses to take advantage of signed free trade agreements (FTAs) to effectively exploit markets and boost exports.

The ministry will continue diversifying export markets and products, focusing on developing exports through cross-border e-commerce, and foreign distribution systems, promoting brand development for Vietnamese goods, and increasing the export of highly-processed goods and those made with high technology, having a high localisation rate.

The ministry considers e-commerce an important distribution channel, especially for agricultural products and consumer industrial goods.