Vietnam Posts Trade Surplus

Vietnam gained trade surplus of $2.68 billion for the entire year, the general department of customs said, CNA reported. The department said the nation had total trade value of $349.2 billion this year, a year-on-year increase of 6.6%. However, trade value in December reduced by 0.6% to $32.3 billion, including $16.3 billion in import value and $16 billion in export value. Vietnam had $175.94 billion in export value, a year-on-year surge of 8.6%, and $173.26 billion in import value, a year-on-year increase of 4.6% in 2016. This year, the nation had a trade surplus of $2.68 billion, while last year, it had a trade deficit of $3.55 billion. Groups of products with high export value this year did not witness many changes from the previous years, the department said. This year, telephones and their components had the highest export value at $34.51 billion, followed by $23.56 billion from textile and garment exports, 3.3% higher than last year.