Vietnam posted a trade surplus of $1.8 billion in the first seven months of the year, much lower than the $2.6 billion trade surplus seen in the same period last year, the latest report from the General Statistics Office (GSO) revealed.
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The positive figure was partly thanks to the export turnover of the domestic sector which expanded 12 per cent to $44 billion during the period, accounting for 30.3 per cent of total exports, higher than the growth rate of 5.6 per cent of the foreign-invested sector with $101.13 billion, GSO said.
Despite the encouraging export performance, the domestic sector still encountered a trade deficit of $16.8 billion while the foreign-invested sector recorded a trade surplus of $18.6 billion, they noted.
During the period, the country earned $145.13 billion from shipping goods abroad, a year-on-year surge of 7.5 per cent.
The growth in export value was mainly attributed to 24 goods with a turnover of more than $1 billion. These staples accounted for 88.1 per cent of the nation’s total export revenue.
Of these, telephones and spare parts were the largest earners with $27.3 billion, surging three per cent year-on-year, making up 19 per cent of total value.
Electronics, computers and components came next with $18.6 billion, up 15 per cent while garment and textiles ranked third with $18.3 billion, up 11 per cent.
Other staples recording a significant export turnover were footwear ($10.4 billion, up 14 per cent), machinery, equipment and spare parts ($9.7 billion, up 7.2 per cent) and wood and wooden products ($5.7 billion, up 16 per cent).
Meanwhile, shipments of vegetables and fruits, coffee and rice experienced a fall compared to the same time last year with respective earnings of $2.3 billion, $1.8 billion and $1.7 billion.
According to the GSO, the US was the largest importer of Vietnamese goods in the period with a turnover of $32.5 billion, 25 per cent higher than last year’s corresponding period. The EU and China came second and third with $24.3 billion and $20 billion, respectively.
From January to July, Vietnam splashed out $143.34 billion on imports, up 8.3 per cent year-on-year. Of the sum, some $61 billion was contributed by the domestic sector, up 13 per cent and nearly $83 billion by the foreign-invested sector, growing 5.3 per cent.
There were 28 goods seeing import value of more than $1 billion, making up 85.8 per cent of total purchases from foreign countries, including computers and spare parts with $28.2 billion, machines and equipment ($21 billion), cloth ($7.8 billion) and automotives ($4.3 billion).
China remained Vietnam’s largest import market during the seven month period with turnover of $42 billion, a 17 per cent climb year-on-year. VIET NAM NEWS
