Vietnam Trade Surplus at $3.1b

Vietnam recorded a trade surplus of $3.1 billion as of April 15, according to the latest statistics of the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

The country’s total import-export turnover rose 17% to $125.7 billion. Of the figure, $64.4 billion came from exports, a year-on-year rise of 22.8%, VNA reported.

Vietnam’s major export staples include mobile phones and components, garments-textiles, computers and electronic components, machines and equipment, footwear, transport vehicles and accessories, timber and wooden products, aquatic products, coffee, and iron and steel.

As of mid-April, foreign direct investment businesses posted a trade surplus of $9.4 billion. FDI firms raked in $45.9 billion from exports, up 24.3% against the same period last year, making up 71.3% of the nation’s total export turnover. Meanwhile, FDI enterprises imported $36.5 billion worth of goods.

Vietnam’s export-import turnover hit $400 billion in 2017, representing a fourfold increase in ten years. The country first achieved $100 billion in foreign trade value in 2007, the year it joined the World Trade Organization. The figure rose to $200 billion in 2011, and $300 billion in 2015.

According to the WTO, in 2006, Vietnam’s total export and import turnover ranked 50th and 44th in the world. In 2015, the nation jumped 23 and 16 steps, occupying 27th and 28th positions, respectively.

At present, Vietnam has 30 export groups with an annual turnover of at least $1 billion each, including textiles, leather, footwear, coal and crude oil.

Vietnam has trade relations with more than 200 countries and territories around the world, gradually moving import-export markets from Asia to Europe and America.